drugs, that would be a minor part of the federal budget. about $12 billion is being spent this year out of $3.8 trillion budget on the war on drugs. but i am not for funding planned parenthood. i will take that to zero. i am not for funding -- >> we're on drugs. >> i know. but i'm just pointing out how small the federal war on drugs money is in terms of the entire federal government, but i am in favor of reducing it because we have to reduce everything that's generally funded in order to get to a balanced budget. [applause] >> governor johnson, the war on drugs. >> 0% of the -- 90% of the problem is related to inportation not use.

55% of americans support legalizing marijuana. why is this the case? because we are talking about it. because debates are raging at dinner tables that haven't been raging at dinner tables in the past. let's regulate it. let's attacks it. -- let's tax it. it's on the ballot in colorado in november. coloradoians have the opportunity really to change drug policy worldwide. coloradans get it. six years ago they oat voted to decriminalize marijuana on a campaign based on marijuana being safer than alcohol. i am not a hypocrite on this issue. i have drank alcohol, i have smoked marijuana. i don't drink alcohol, i don't smoke marijuana. i can tell you, in no category

is marijuana more dangerous than alcohol. [applause] and yet we are arresting 1.8 million people a year in this country on drug-related crime. we have the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. 2.3 million people. half of what we spend on law enforcement, the court and the prisons is drug related, and to what end. look, this is not about advocating drug use. 50% of kids graduating from high school have smoked marijuana. that's an issue that belongs with families, not in the criminal justice system. [applause] >> anybody have any rebuttal?

>> i have to make my statements first, and then my rebuttal. so as a medical doctor previously in clinical practice for about 25 years, i can say with a real understanding of the science of the health impact, that marijuana is it a substance that is dangerous because it's illegal. it is not illegal on account of being dangerous. because it's not dangerous at all. [applause] it is well known that the impacts of marijuana are dangerous because of the illegal drug trade from marijuana drug prohibition. so the most important thing we can do to get rid of the health problems associated with marijuana is to legalize it. and on day one, on day one a

president, if she wanted to, could entrust the d.e.a. to oh, to -- could entrust the d.e.a. to do a really radical thing. that would be to use science in determining what substances will and will not be scheduled. because marijuana is on the schedule. [applause] marijuana is off the schedule. anded same goes for -- and the same goes for hemp, which is also a substance for which there are no bad drug effects. there are no bad health and safety effects. yet there are important health benefits. marijuana should be regulated but not in a way that creates more monday applies but allows small businesses to florish. -- does not create another tobacco monopoly but allows

small businesses to flourish. >> rocky. rebuttal. >> i don't know if it's really rebuttal. because i am in total disagreement --hem p, why is that illegal? except for those money interests that control our congress. we need to rise up as one and say legalize trillion hem p now. -- legalize industrial hemp now. [applause] >> 40,000 people in prison on drug charges. now we have over a half billion of our people in prison? i would, as president, create a presidential pardon on everyone that did not commit other crimes from our prisons who were arrested for marijuana. [applause] >> anyone else want to reput?

we have six questions and all and we are only finish in the second one. >> when i was governor, a meeting started, i didn't know what to expect. they said, hey, we're here to support you. we would like to share with you a story. >> only a minute. others better understand it. they said methamphetamine is really the boogeyman of drugs. people that do methamphetamine do horrible things. by the way, it falls on the poor. it is cheap, it is easy to make. so the consequences fall on the poor. if cocaine were legal, these people would be using cocaine without the negative behavioral impact. what i will tell you about cocaine, and it would be wonderful if the government told the truth, cocaine puts

holes in your heart. people that use their cocaine their entire life die from a heart attack. whitney houston is the best example. >> one-minute rebuttal. [applause] >> let's be clear about my position on this. unlike gary, unlike rocky, and unlike jill, i'm not for legalizing drugs. if you want that, vote for one of them, don't vote for me. [applause] >> we remind you, tonight's debate questions were submitted through social media. i'm presenting them exactly as they were received. we'll start with this one withthis question comes from gregdo you think an annual military budget of $1 trillion is absolutely necessary to keep us safe?

in a broader sense, what do you think should be the role worldwide of the united states military? two minutes, virgil goode. >> as i said, if i'm elected president i will balance the budget, and part of the cuts have to be in the department of defense. we cannot do as mitt romney and paul ryan suggest increase military funding by $2 trillion over the next decade. i support a strong defense. but we need to retrench rather than trying to be the policemen of the world. we have too many soldiers, too many troopers scattered around the world. our presence needs to be decreased around the world, not increased, and the united states should stop trying to be the overseer of the world. that will save us billions and billions of dollars. [applause] >> all right. governor johnson.

>> we need to provide ourselves with a strong national defense. the operative word here is defense, not offense and not nation building. [applause] >> the biggest threat to our national security is the fact that we're bankrupt, that we're borrowing and printing money to the tune of 43 cents out of every dollar we spend. in promising to submit a balanced budget to congress in the year 2013, that would include a 43% reduction in military spending. how does that go down. a 43% reduction in military spending takes us back to 2003 spending level. it is getting ourselves out of all the military engagements that we are currently involved in. stop with the military intervention. it is reducing the military footprint worldwide. it is troops we have stationed in japan, in south korea, and in europe. it is intelligence. it is research and development.

all of these components go into a 43% reduction when it comes to the military. we have to stop our military intervention. we have to stop with the dronse drone strikes. we have to stop with a policy that has us with hundreds of billions of enemies to this country that but for these policies would not exist. when we talk about foreign aid to other country it is propping up foreign dictators that are on our side as opposed to the other side? we pick winners and losers, and there are a whole lot of unintended consequences that go along with this. right now we are funding the syrian insurgence and they are made up of jihadists? should we not learn anything about where we funded osama bin laden? [applause]

>> jill. >> i want to agree with gary and with rocky, and i guess not with virgeyill in this -- virgil in this instance, to say that a foreign policy based on brute military force and wars for oil is making us less secure not more secure. we need to bring the troops home and not the drones. we need to put an end to the use of drones and actually lead. not to lead this development of a new arms race, but to lead in an international treaty and a convention to permanently ban the use of drones as a weapon of war and a means of spying on the american public. maws applause [applause] $5 trillion spent on the afghan and other wars.

this has not made us more secure. what we are seeing is the blowback against this policy. because dropping bombs on wedding and funerals, which is what drones do with an incredibly high civilian casualty rate, that is not a good way to win the hearts and east. [applause] we need a foreign policy based on human rights and on fighting climate change which should be the war that we are all fighting, not this war for oil. [cheers and applause] >> now on the question of military spending, again we have three more questions coming. on military spending, rocky.

>> president obama warned the -- president eisenhower warned this country when he termed it the military industrial congressional complex. for very good reason. these folks vote for massive funding for completely wasteful projects, like the f-22 that the department of defense said we are never going to use it. it is out-moded. dollars on it? and because the contractor had other contractors or sub contractors in 44 different states, and they did it very strategically, these people, the republicans and democrats alike, voted for additional funding. that is treason against our country when our treasury -- treasure is being wasted, when we need that treas write to go to exporting and jobs, and the biggest problem facing our planet and that is climate change. we need to focus on where the

real problems are, rather than those who are benefiting from this corrupt system have their stake. now, there are two fundamentals when it comes to our engagement, military engagement. i think our leaders completely are either esconsing or ignoring. have either forgotten or are ignoring it. first, no wars of aggression. if you haven't been attacked or you are not imminently going to be attacked, to attack is an illegal war of aggression under the united nations charter against the nuremberg -- nuremberg principle. we convicted under nurmberg for those same crimes. the decision whether to go to war is congress' alone. they have the sole prerogative. it cannot be delicated to the president as congress has so[applause]

>> anyone want to rebut? virgil? >> rocky is correct about following the constitution. i would not be in syria unless congress makes a declaration of war. we will not stay in afghanistan if i'm elected president unless congress makes a declaration of war. only by going through that constitutional process can we ensure that there -- the will of the american people is addressed when we have issues like syria, afghanistan, and iraq. >> gary, this has fobe to be rebuttal. do you want to rebut something, gary? >> i was opposed to going into iraq before we went into iraq. i did not think they had

weapons of mass destruction. i felt -- thought if they had weapons of mass destruction, we have the capability to see weapons of mass destruction. if -- afghanistan, i thought that was totally warranted. we were attacked, we attacked back. i would argue after having been in afghanistan for six months, we wiped out al-qaeda. that was 11 years ago. we should have gotten out of [applause] here we are now on iran. the larblingest demonstration after 9/11 was in iran by over one million citizens that showed up in support of the united states. and we're going to bomb iran? we're going to bomb the citizens of iran? we'll find ourselves with another 100 million enemies to this country that we wouldn't otherwise have. [applause]

i think both candidates said they would not bomb iran. this is our fourth question. the question was submitted by tout. let's go to the question on the video. >> how will kids get a college education in 2030 for nearly $400,000. is college really worth it at that point? and if so, how can you deny this to everyone. >> you probably didn't hear that, but some estimates give the price of a college education at $400,000 in 2030. his question is, is college even worth if at that point? if so, should college be provided to everyone.

>> first of all, as governor of new mexico, we established lottery scholarships which allowed really any graduating high school student from new mexico to go to college with those costs paid. so woths what's the federal role, though, when it comes to education, and what's the primary reason in this country why college division tuition is so high? well, it is because of guaranteed government student loans that because of guaranteed government student loans, no one has the excuse for not going to education. and so because of that, institutions of higher learning, colleges and universities are immune from pricing that if kids would take a harder look at it, gee, i don't think i can afford $15,000 a semester, i think i will just sit this one out. when that happens en masse, i guarantee you, the cost of college tuition will drop dramatically. today that doesn't exist. i can't afford $15,000, yet

friends and family will point and say, look, you can get a guaranteed government student loan. that is another one of government's unintended consequences that have college tuition at such a high rate. [applause] >> jill. >> i think it is time to make public higher education free as it should be. [cheers and applause] we have done this before when our troops came home from the second world war. we provided free higher education through the g.i. bill. and we know that it pays for itself. for every dwhrar that we invested in -- dollar that we invested, $7 was returned in investments into the economy including more than enough

revenue to cover the full cost of those tuition payments. [applause] this is something throughout the 20th century. throughout the 20th century, we provided a high school education for free to our younger generation. why? because it was essential for economic security. and we owe it to our younger generation it to give them a secured start into their economic rives. -- economic lives. in the 21st century a high school degree won't cut it. you need a college degree in order to have economic security. so it is only right that we should now be providing that for free. [applause] >> and while we're at it, it is time to, instead of bail out wall street, which is what the fed is doing now, with qe-3, $40 billion a month to bail out

wall street banks again, instead let's bail out the students and do something really useful with that bail out. [cheers and applause] >> on the question of college, rocky. >> thank you. our forebearers set up a system in this country where everyone would have a free secondary education. that may have been enough then. but for our nation to regain its global competitive edge, we must provide higher education. either college education or technical education. but it is for the future of our country and to meet the ideal in this nation of equality of opportunity that we should provide a free and equal ed calingse indicational opportunity in college -- in college, and do the right thing for our young people.

[applause] this is not a radical idea. it is done in in many parts of the world, and it pays a huge dividend. as to those dents students who are saddled with enormous tuition debt, it has reached over $1 trillion, more than the entire credit card debt in this country? what does congress do? or their fat cat contribute tores? they made student debt nondischargeable in bankruptcy. so you can charge a mazerati on your credit card, but if someone ran out and did what they could to get a decent education can't get a new start. so we need to demand congress to allow discharge yanltability in bankruptcy of student debt now. [cheers and applause] >> you might not get what you

want to hear from me, but you will get straight talk. we can't afford more federally subsidized student loans and pell grants. i wish i could say we will give you more. a debt of $16 trillion is bearing down on us. and as governor johnson said, we could well be like germany after world war i. i do not support this, and the person that asked the question on the internet is not going to like it, but we can't afford more pell grants and federally subsidized student loans. we have to balance the budget and decline the debt. [applause] >> anybody have a rebuttal? >> free comes with a cost.

[applause] free, very simply is spending more money than what you take in. free is accumulating more than the $16 trillion in debt that we currently have. free has gotten us to the point where we are going to experience a monetary collapse in this country due to the fact that we continue to borrow and print more money than we take in. free, the federal reserve system in this tun country, the treasury prints money. they give it to the federal reserve. the federal reserve gives it to the bank at zero percent. do they give that to you or i? no. you p -- with no risk whatsoever. this is what has to stop in this country is the notion of "free"" applause there needs to be a

level playing field for everybody. [applause] >> any other rebuttals? >> i disagree with both of them on this. we cannot afford not to provide a great education and equality of opportunity for all our young people and in this country. we need to insist on prosperity, not austerity. and in a recession, it is not time for these massive spending cuts as called for by polls simpson and both of the people running for president with the major parties. we need to get behind our workers and young people and provide but is going to build this nation in the future -- great jobs in the great first- class education. >> jill. rebuttal, jill. >> i am agreeing with rocky here.

we cannot afford not to educate our students. our young degeneration is the greatest resource we have. and their participation in our economy is not just good for them, it is good for all of us. every generation, the economy needs to be rerouted by fresh -- rebooted a fresh imagination and the genius of a new generation. that does not happen when a generation is locked into being indentured servants. that is what our students are now. we need to bail them out and create free public higher education. >> a rebuttal. >> mitt romney in the last debate said he is for expanding student loans and pell grants for you have four candidates you can look to it that is a big issue. >> civil-rights. it was submitted via social

media and is being presented exactly as sent to us. the question comes from melissa on twitter. this go around me begin with jill. >> where do you stand on the ability to detained americans indefinitely and why? >> it is an outrage that 1021 ndaa was ever passed to start with. it is an incredible betrayal of our civil liberties that the president's has assumed dictatorial rights to put us in prison and his -- at his pleasure without charge or without trial. this is not allowable and is a basic offense against the very

foundation of american liberty. it should be repealed. [applause] we must also repeal the president's interpretation of the enforcement act in 2001. the military used at that said -- youth act that said assassinations are in the power of this president. we need to put an end to assassination. an end to the fisa act which retroactively legalized of more to the wiretapping against legal u.s. citizens. [applause] we need to repeal the patriot act and we need to stop the persecution of whistle-blowers

who blow the whistle on crimes by our government. [applause] >> ten second spirit >> benjamin franklin said if we sacrifice our liberty for security, we will wind up losing both. so let's take back our liberty. that is the foundation of true security. >> rocky, detaining americans indefinitely. >> i went to law school because i believe as deeply as one can believe it until the rule of law. and justice. the fact that our system of justice can provide for everyone. what we have seen through the bush years and now with president obama has been so absolutely subversive and anti-

american. there has been no more anti american act in our history than the ndaa. president obama, in 2009, he asked for the power to indefinitely detained people without charges, without a trial, without legal assistance, and without the right to habeas corpus. we are on the road toward totalitarianism and that is not an exaggeration. [applause] this one person -- if one person can be determined against whom and under what conditions law passed by congress and our constitution are going to be applied, that spells tyranny. it is the very definition of tyranny. what happened when president obama came into office? he said about our international treaties and our own domestic laws, absolutely forbidding torture, let's forget about

those war crimes and move forward and not move backward. what about those who committed countless federal felonies by illegally spied on american citizens? he said let's forget about it. he did the same thing when he was in the united states senate after he promised opposite to everybody before he got the democratic nomination. he voted for retroactive immunity for the telecom companies to participated in the illegal surveillance program. that shows the utter disregard to the rule of law. we need to demand more of our leaders. [applause] >> virgil good. >> if i were president, i would have vetoed ndaa. [applause]

>> why can we all be that simple? governor terry >> because, larry, this is pitching oneself to vote for me. so i will try to take advantage of shamelessly pitching myself here. i would veto the act allowing for you and i as u.s. citizens to be arrested and detained without a charge. what is really significant, last december, the aclu can now with the report card on all the presidential candidates. i apologize for the three others on states that were not in this report card. aclu, take your dedicated to civil liberties and the constitution. a group dedicated to the first 10 amendments of the constitution. this is really important. 24 liberty torches' with the convicts corporate mitt romney and rick santorum had zero the report is out of 24. newt gingrich had four liberty

toure just out of 24. barack obama had 16 liberty torch's out of 24. my hero, ron paul, 18 liberty torch's out of 24. and gary johnson had 21 out of 24. [applause] >> okay. [laughter] anybody with a rebuttal? i guess you all agree on that. we go to question no. six. we will, by the way, have a discussion on this and two- minute closing comments. we will start with a rocky. it was selected by my editorial team. but in the post to facebook, he asks we start with a rocky. if you had the opportunity to write one constitutional amendment with an absolute guarantee it would be approved by congress and then following that, what would you a man? >> virgil goode. >> i am an advocate of a balanced budget, and i would cut federal spending on the war on drugs. however, drug use is primarily a state issue, not a federal issue. but this is ven going to set well with most 6 -- with most of you. i am not for legalizing marijuana use or other drug use. if we cut back on the war on drugs, that would be a minor part of the federal budget. about $12 billion is being spent this year out of $3.8 trillion budget on the war on drugs. but i am not for funding planned parenthood. i will take that to zero. i am not for funding -- >> we're on drugs. >> i know. but i'm just pointing out how small the federal war on drugs money is in terms of the entire federal government, but i am in favor of reducing it because we have to reduce everything that's generally funded in order to get to a balanced budget. [applause]

>> if you could write an amendment, what would you amend? >> equal rights on the low will never be abridged on account of gender or sexual orientation. [applause] it is time that we have federal protection for members of our lgbt community and prohibit any discrimination on account of gender. that amendment without the sexual orientation provision failed by not getting the approval only three states in this country. it is high time we revive it and

add sexual orientation and gender identification and make that statement as a nation that we will never allow discrimination on those grounds again. [applause] >> before the others respond, do you think that would pass today? >> i think it would pass if the people made clear that we insist upon and then there would be a heavy political price paid by anybody in congress or in the white house who opposes it. it is really up to us. major social movements in this country always start of the grass-roots level. we are the leaders, let's make them follow us. [applause] >> virgil, how would to amend the constitution? >> term limits -- [applause] limits,n't adopt term you are going to continue to have a congress that is always

worried about the next election instead of what is best for the country. let me say this -- if we could get it through congress and you might have to grandfather all members of congress and their right now which i would not want to do but you might have to, i am for term limits between 6-12 years. i don't care what it is. it would enhance washington so much because it is a constant worry about the next election right now. where is the next fund raiser and who are they pacs giving their money? you watched a chicago television. it is a constant advertising and to the pacs are the biggest turning bread -- contributors to congressional elections. it would be a knife through hot butter, term limits.

>> as a follow-up, do you think they would vote themselves out of office? >> no, that's why i said you would have to grandfathered them and i think you did get through if you could grandfathered them or let it start by giving them a 12-year and that would get through. >> governor, what is your constitutional amendment? >> term limits. [laughter] the root of all evil or politicians that beat their chests and in the name of electing me or reelected me, we're going to end the war on terror, we will take care of the illegal immigrant, we'll take care of health care, we will have free education for everybody, and to the drug wars, you name it, elect me, re-elect me, we will save the world. congress gets elected. i hear congressional ads running all the time. we need to balance the federal

budget. the next ad that runs is here is the break i had brought home to my state amounting to billions of dollars and if you want the bacon to continue to be brought home, vote for me. i am living proof that term limits work. i really enjoyed being governor of new mexico. i knew that i was term limited. i had eight years. did i push the envelope as much as i might have pushed it if i had four years? i don't think i did. i think that pushed the envelope just far enough to get reelected and that got reelected in a state that was 2-1 democrats. i got reelected and it was all about doing the right thing. i do not want to leave office thinking could have, should have, would have so term limits are really is the silver bullet. politicians would get elected and do the right thing is supposed to what ever it takes to get elected and reelected.

[applause] >> jill, how would you amend the constitution? >> my concern is that even with term limits, corporations and big money can still buy with the want and are still buying our candidates. they get them into office anyhow whether it is for four years or eight years. i want to pass the amendment that will clarify that money is not steeped in corporations and corporations are not people. [applause] in stealing our rights to personhood, corporations have done exactly that -- they have gotten the right to personhood and have taken away our right to

personhood. corporations can fight and stop and block bill laws we need to protect our air and water and climate and worker safety and public health and campaign finance. these are not constitutional issues that belong to corporations. these are political questions that should be decided by communities through the political and legislative process. we should not be because -- be precluded from forming the laws that we decide we need because corporations say that our forming such laws and protecting ourselves is against the constitution. that is a violation of what the writers of the constitution intended. i will support that amendment to clarify, to get our constitutional rights back from the corporations that have seized them. [applause]

>> this has been a very lively evening. you will each have two minutes to close, is that correct? >> that's correct.

>> with regard to immigration which i think is a hot-button issue and the kind of highlights the differences between me and everybody else, let's start up with the premise that immigration is really a good thing. let's back it as easy as possible for somebody who wants to come into this country and work to get a work of the said, not a green card and not citizenship but a work visa so applicable taxes could get paid and we would have no criminals working in this country. we hear about wasted votes. wasting your vote is voting for somebody you don't believe in.

that is wasting your vote. [applause] i am asking everybody here, everybody watching this nationwide, to waste your vote on may, but for me, gary johnson. i guarantee you nobody will regret that i am next president of united states. you'll find somebody that will wake up every single day and take on the debates and discussions that need to be happening in this country and are not happening today because of lack of leadership. [applause] >> thank you, governor. jill stein, two minutes. >> there is a famous saying from alice walker -- "the biggest way people give up power is by not knowing we have to start with." [applause] in fact, there are 90 million

voters who are not coming out to vote in this election. that is one out of every two voters, that is twice as many as the number who will come out for barack obama and twice as many of the number will come out for me run it. those are voters who are saying no to politics as usual and say no to the democratic and republican parties. imagine if we got out the word to those 90 million voters that they actually have a variety of choices and the voices in this election. i want to focus especially on those 36 million students and young people and recent graduates who are effectively indentured servants because of the high unemployment rate and the draconian loans that have been customized especially for students lacking any consumer protection. if those students decided to stand up and go to the polls and

come out and vote for free public higher education, for ending student debt, for bailing out the students and breaking up the banks instead of the other way around which is what they are doing, we could turn politics in this country on its head on november 6. i encourage you to go to my web site and get the word out. there is a choice in this election to take back our democracy, to create jobs for everyone through a new deal that will put an end to climate change and make war is for oil obsolete. we can do this now by standing up and making it so. [applause] >> thank you, jill. and finally, rocky and rison. >> imagine, if there had been a candidate included in the obama- or on the debate to challenge our plutocracy, our government that is run by and for the

benefit of monstrous corporations rather than in the interest of the people of this country. we know the republican/democrats have differences but both of them have morphed into an anti-democratic force that has betrayed basic human and civil rights. we know both of these major candidates have been bought and paid for. that is why neither of them stands for health care for all. that is why neither of them ever talk about breaking the stranglehold the military- industrial complex has on our government. that is why neither of them talk about providing the essential leadership on the climate crisis, the greatest tragedy facing earth's inhabitants. [applause] obama and ron they have refused

to discuss the corrupting influence ploy from wall street banks and insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industries, the fossil fuel industry or military contractors because they are the recipients of that corrupting money. neither of these dominant party candidates will have called for federal protection for marriage equality. neither of them have called for an end to poverty and an end to the insane war on drugs are for the implementation of a minister did that would hire millions of workers. thank you for providing -- thank you for providing this opportunity for democratic solutions. it is in the public interest on which we can all work together far beyond this election.

>> as a moderator and house for 55 years, i've always believed in free speech and the right of people to throw their hat into the ring and the right to be heard going back two years ago when i introduced ross perot to the public and got to hear his thoughts and john anderson before that. ralph nader and others have come forward to go to the battle. you are kind of don quixotes in a wave of the windmills have a way of stopping and we have by way of saluting you just for getting into the fray. i thank you for your efforts and all you have done. i also wanted to salute christina in what she does. [applause] >> thank you. >> christianne things up but how did free and equal start? >> it came from my dad. jim tobin ran for governor here

back in 1998. happy birthday, dad. this is my legacy. we now have free and equal elections which is a non- partisan organization to motivate people across the spectrum and break the stranglehold of the two-party system and bring the power back to the people. >> cristina has and closing remarks so i want to thank gary johnson, bill stein, rocky anderson, and virgil goode. it was my pleasure to be here and thank you to the audience as well. [applause] alternative over to cristina tobin. >> i want to thank larry king, a dream come true. [applause]

my executive producer and producer, the whole crew of people, thank you to them and all of our supporters out there and the candidates and we the people and i have good news for you. how many people enjoyed this debate tonight? [applause] [applause] [applause]

wow. how many people want to see a second debate? [applause] we're a nonpartisan organization and all donations go to create things like this and we are doing big things that the the election. we're holding a debate next tuesday in washington, d.c., 9:00 p.m. eastern time. [applause] thanks to one of our sponsors, rob ritchie, we will institute

ensign run of voting and you can go on line and vote for the candidates you want and the two candidates with the highest number of votes we will have instant run off voting. you have 24 hours to votes and go on line when you go home today. on thursday morning, we will announce the two candidates with the most votes will be in washington, d.c. to debate on international issues. police, vote tonight, free and equal.org. [applause] thank you, larry. >> thank you all very much. a great pleasure to be with you, always a great pleasure to come to chicago. >> wheat, the people. >> good night, everybody [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> that was the independent debate last night from chicago. we want to get your reaction to what you just saw. maybe you saw it last night. what do you think about the impact of independent candidates in the 2012 election? here are the number is on your screen -- -- here are the number is on

your screen. -- here are the numbers on your screen will also take a look at comments on twitter. if you are on facebook, you can post your comments and you can find a link to our video library there and watched the debate through facebook. we will take about 20 minutes or so of your phone calls. at 2:30, we will take you live to see paul ryan in cleveland at cleveland state university which is set to begin about 2:30 p.m. eastern. what are your thoughts on the impact of the independents in the democratic race? caller: i think he did a great

job last night on the debate. i would vote for president obama. i would vote straight democrat. host: so there is no independent candidate that could lure you away? caller: no, sir, no way. host: wendy is in hyattsville, alabama. -- huntsville, alabama. caller: i started off voting for out -- for obama. after watching this debate, i feel like there was more common sense in the first started as of this debate and there has been in the entire romney-obama fiasco. i would vote for gary johnson. host: what issue in particular

did day address in the debate last night? caller: i like how you guys attacked the military industrial complex. nobody really talked about that. it seemed like it was more show and less substance in the romney-obama debates. they talked about the student loans issue and that would increase tuition and how that is happening and a crushing debt we have in this country. host: so gary johnson has your vote after the debate? caller: absolutely. the other candidates were great but i liked what he was saying about student loans. it affects me, too. i like you guys and you guys should be talking against obama and romney.

host:wendy was from lincoln, nebraska. let's go to the santan valley? caller: i am in arizona. i made rom a supporter this time. i'm air registered as partied not declared in arizona but part of what i am voting for romney, last time i voted for the libertarian candidate because i just could not stomach obama or mccain. and then obama got elected. this time i will not take a

chance. i am voting for romney. i'm sorry but i can relate to the third party supporters but a third party vote, most of them are conservative. a third party vote is a vote for obama so you have to vote for or on may. host: is there one issue in particular this time around that made you say i am voting for mid romney? caller: there are two issues -- obviously the economy. obama has never run a kool-aid stand. romney knows that to balance a budget and i am pro-lifer. host: host: we show that made earlier

in the can find it in the video library on c-span.org. next up is brooklyn supporting president obama. caller: i'm calling from brooklyn, new york, as you said. this country has some much dislike for obama that they want to give romney a pass. no one is taking awareness to that and it's really scary. this country has so much hatred for obama that they're willing to let anyone step their foot in the door. host: are you concerned at all that any of these independent candidates that we have shown today will have an effect on those voting for obama and thereby take votes away from the president? caller: not to the extreme, but what really bothers me, and this is off topic, but what is

brewing in america right now. host: that was john in brooklyn. back to the independent line. florida. good afternoon, greg. go ahead with your comments. caller: i really like the third parties attention on global warming and the crisis there. host: that is your take away from the debate? global warming is your high priority issue? caller: it involves the globe and the global population, not just one particular group of people. host: joe in vegas. it says here you are a supporter of romney? caller: i voted for obama last time.

i live in vegas and i have seen all kinds of stuff in tv that i did not even know about, fast and furious, and everything else obama lied about. i cannot vote for him. obama has no plans to fix the budget or to get jobs except to borrow more money. host: you voted for obama last time? caller: yes. host: are you a registered independent? caller: i'm a democrat. host: calls coming up, but in case you missed the rearing a few minutes ago, here is just the flavor of the debate featuring four candidates, jill stein, gary johnson from the libertarian party, and also rocky anderson from the justice party.

here is a back-and-forth between virgil and gary johnson. [video clip] >> we need to balance the budget now, not 10 years down the road. jobs for american citizens first. i am the only candidate that has advocated a near complete moratorium on green cards a, foreign workers coming into this country until unemployment is under 5%. it makes no sense to bring in so many foreign workers when we need jobs in america for u.s. citizens first. >> i ran completely outside of the political system in new mexico and i was elected republican governor in a state that was two to one democrat and i made a name for myself vetoing legislation. i vetoed 750 bills, thousands of line item vetoes, and it made a

difference when it came to billion dollars worth of spending and when it comes to a law that would have told you or i what we could or could not do in the bedroom. host: that is the third-party candidate debate last night which was hosted by former cnn talk-show host larry king. #cspan2012. off of twitter. michigan is next up. a obama supporter. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would just like to say that people are voting for the third- party candidates are just taking away a vote from either democrats or republicans. they are just wasting their time because it will be one of the two in office. host: thank you for your call. getting reaction on facebook as well. here are just a few from

facebook.com/cspan where we linked. next up, and independents in dayton, ohio, receiving a lot of attention by the presidential candidates. go ahead. caller: thank you. these third parties, i learn more and more my questions have been answered than with obama and romney. what is really sad with the other two parties, these groups do not have the money to voice their opinion and i wish they

could sit down and get some of these questions answered. host: you are not the first want to say that, about getting your questions answered, covering topics that are not covered in the other three presidential debates between romney and obama. >> we just went through 30 bates with romney and obama and none of these questions were addressed. they beat around the bush talking about climbing trees or something. it made no sense. that's what's really disturbing. i don't understand. i knew of these guys, but i really was not aware why they were not in the limelight like everyone else. bob host: in omaha, neb., and it says you are supporting romney? what did you think about the independent candidates? will they have an impact?

caller: they are men that are conservative and i truly enjoyed listening to them and i learned things from them. but if we are to get one nation under god under a constitution and survive this national debt and deficit, there have been 21 world powers and they all went down because they traded their own principles in the citizens betrayed what made them great as a nation. the only one you can get us back on track is the stellar integrity of mitt romney. we have to get this nation back and we need to vote our conscience on november 6th. we will not be a free people long. host: of twitter, agreeing with our caller.

in d.c., are you with us? make sure to meet your television and then go ahead. caller: i am a fervent supporter of the president and i appreciate what he has done over the past four years and i am proud to call him the leader of my nation. i have respect for the third- party candidates, but in all seriousness, we have to recognize that our next president will either be obama or romney. when you look at these candidates, obama has proven himself time and time again through some of the worst economic and international crisis we have ever seen in decades. romney spent his entire campaign flip-floping on his agenda and not being clear what we need to do to get their country back on track.

we host: will cover the president later today. he has a two-day multi-state tour starting in iowa today and denver later this afternoon. we will have that lie before you. 20 minutes away, paul ryan will be at cleveland state university, respected around 2:30 p.m. eastern. reactions to your thoughts on the impact of the third-party candidates and a few more of your calls coming up. we wanted to show you a little bit from the debate last night, back-and-forth between jules stein and rocky in understand. [video clip] >> there are 90 million voters will not be coming out to vote, one out of every two voters, twice as many as the number who will come out for barack obama and twice as many that will come out for romney.

those of you who are saying no to politics as usual and saying no to the democratic and republican parties, imagine if we got out first to those 90 million voters, that they actually have a variety of choices and voices in this election. >> they have refused to discuss the corrupting influence of money flowing from wall street banks, out from the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, fossil fuel industries because they are the recipients of that corrupting money. neither of these dominant party candidates will have called for federal protection for marriage equality. neither of them have called for an end to poverty and then on the insane war on drugs that would hire millions of workers. host: that was some of the debate last night in chicago and

reaction on our page. here is a look at our twitter feed. here is one who says the third party debates are way more interesting and on topic. the presidential debates are on c-span. they're very engaging people. a few more calls here baltimore roanoke, va. caller: thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to state that is definitely true that it's going to be one of these two candid if that gets chosen between romney and obama. i believe that. untilot going to change we get this whole electorial

vote situated that dictates who becomes president. until it becomes a week, the people, who make the choice, the favoritism, who we, the people choose. you host: are calling from a state that could have an impact and virgil goode used to represent your state. who will you support? caller: i am between gary johnson and joe stein. i like rocky's point. i never understood him before this debate, but i feel like gary johnson -- totally. i like gary johnson more than in the of the other candidates, but i will probably be voting gary johnson. host: you have virgil, gary, and jill stein on the ballot

there. caller: we do. the one thing in this debate that got ahold of me is the whole national defense authorization act. i think that is one of the biggest, most important things that we, as human beings it really need to focus on. yes, we need jobs. yes, we need to bring down our debt. ultimately, as human beings -- what host: concerned about that act? i saw a sweet about it earlier but someone had mentioned it. what are you concerned about? caller: the fact that americans can be detained indefinitely without due process, without the fact that they will not have access to legal representation is absolutely scary and people are just caught up in the things that do matter, but i, personally, do not think it

matters more than the national defense authorization act that is behind the scenes and not in the mainstream media. people do not see it every day, and like all of these crazy commercials constantly running every minute of every hour on these two candidates to do not bring it up and who both are for this act. host: jason, we appreciated. let's hear from nancy in midland, texas, supporting romney. you are on the air. caller: thank you so much. i have enjoyed listening to all of these debates, but i do want to say to the person that was talking about are questions not being answered, we have to remember that they have to respond to the questions that are put to them. we would like to put questions to them, but we do not get to do

that. secondly, i want to say that i fully believe that romney has stated numerous times on what he plans to do. everyone keeps saying he is not saying what he wants to do, but he has. i believe that he has. third, i want to say that i fully believe that we are still one nation under god, indivisible, and i believe that as christians we need to get out there and vote if we do not want the changes that are coming up on america. host: nancy from midland, taxes. another look at twitter.

democratic line supporting obama, denise in florida. hello. caller: and calling in in response to third-party voters. i listened to the debate and one thing that really caught my attention was the candidate who mention free education. if you are advocating for free education, where's the money going to come from? how would you then balance the budget? isn't that closer to socialism? president obama, who i support, has a tough fight just to get the health care act passed, something for the good of all people in this country. i support it because i have

lived in england and in my native country of barbados, all persons are entitled to free education and free health care from birth until death. host: the issue of education , the president has proposed hiring 100,000 teachers. do you think that is a feasible goal for his next of ministration, were he to be elected? caller: i'd think it's a good goal in the only thing that could go against them as the congress, but it's a really great goal, again, because in my country, understand the value of education. a person cannot change the color of their skin, but they can change their class. it broadened your perspective of life. the prejudices that you may have concerning people are gone. in my native country, barbados, i learned about people all

across the world. host: how long have you been in the u.s.? caller: more than 30 years. host: thanks for calling in. back to the third party line to wrap things up. oregon. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you to c-span for airing this debate. it was awesome. it was a breath of fresh air to hear a different perspective than just one or the other, red or blue. as far as "wasting votes," anyone who they some voting third party is a waste of a vote is not true. it's voting for someone who lies to you or not voting at all. you need to vote for the candidate who really speaks the truth. host: we appreciate all of your calls and comments on facebook.

the hash tag on twitter is #cspan2012. all right in is at cleveland state university and they will be talking about lifting people up out of poverty focusing on job creation and the economy. that is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. eastern. until then, a conversation from this morning's "washington journal" on the role of the african-american vote. host: we are back with lauren williams, editor of the root. we are talking about the african american vote in the campaign 2012. if you can come compare the enthusiasm level in 2008 for voting for barack obama among african americans worse is today. -- verses today. guest: you know, 2008 was obviously this huge movement. he was born to be the first

black president. black voters were feeling that feeling. and that can never be recreated. i think there have been some articles where black voters are like, that has been made and now we are just voting for president. i think that just sums up the difference between then and now. there have been some disappointments. the economy is what it is. the unemployment rate is double that of the national rate. and yet, i think that the black support for the president is still extremely, extremely high. and i think the enthusiasm is higher than one would think it would be, considering that unemployment rate. host: this is the united states

unemployment rate for september 2012, african americans, 13.4%, over all its 7.8%. as you said, african american likely voters, 3% are for governor romney. why? guest: i think a lot of black voters do not necessarily blame barack obama for the economy. they blame george bush. and i think that they blame the republican congress for blocking a barack obama's efforts to change the economy. and a lot of voters, the root annually does the state of the union paul, where we ask our readers to rate obama. and our readers and generate give them d's and c's on the economy and gave the congress

f's. they are very optimistic about where the economy is going and think he is improving the economy. they give him credit for improvements that have been made. i think that is where a lot of that continued support comes from. they do not think it is his fault. host: how important is the african-american vote to president obama's possible reelection? and governor romney losing this election? guest: i think it is extremely important. in 2008, obama won with 96% of the black vote and 43% of the white vote. i think it is obvious that without that huge black support, obama might not be in

the white house, especially in the swing states that have these large black populations like in north carolina and virginia. so, i think that it is important, very important for obama in states like virginia and n.c. or florida that black voters turn out at the rates that they turned out in 2008. and i think it would be beneficial for mitt romney if they did not for obvious reasons. host: on the root you have this story, mitt romney -- what did your reporter have to say? guest: he interviewed with black enterprise i believe. we wrote a little bit about it. he does not have specifics on black unemployment. but neither does barack obama. they do not think about black unemployment specifically. it is generally more just, i am going to create jobs better than the barack obama is going to. i am going to improve this economy. they both sort of have this -- philosophy. neither one of them are going to directly address black unemployment or black employment.

host: what about the stimulus packages that president obama put through congress? for those viewed by african americans and what has governor romney said about them? is that something that african- americans look to point to when they look to say what the president has done with the economy? guest: is something that the obama administration has pointed to specifically when it has been criticized for not doing specific things for african- americans. he says there are parts of the stimulus like pell grant, specific aspects of the stimulus that the obama administration has said are positively affected could struggling african americans. mitt romney disagrees with

stimulus. so, when challenged, the obama administration will often point to these things. there will never say we prevented this legislation so that we could help black people. that is not something you would ever say. why would they? but the things that they have done have disproportionately help black people and i think black people appreciate that. host: i want to show this headline from the pew research center back in 2009. bisecting the 2009 electorate, black women had the highest voter turnout rate in november's election, a first. and election history. what is your prediction for that this time around? both candidates are trying to court to female voters. well black females turned out for president obama and large numbers? to my unscientific prediction is yes, based on the 2008 numbers and based on the fervor with which obama and romney are trying to court women voters.

i do think that black women voters are going to be a factor in this election again, definitely. host: let's hear from callers. from illinois. go ahead. caller: i have a question for lauren williams. i am an african american. a marine. i got out in 2004. my question is, as far as the black media, i the question for you in particular, and maybe i would like for you to represent four black media and answer my question for the lack of explanation of president obama's domestic policy and domestic policy i referring to -- the national defense authorization act. where it gives the government to take people of any race and

have them detained without any right in our constitution. i feel magazines like black enterprise -- the black media in general overlook fundamental defaults in obama's government. host: what do you do? caller: right now i am in between jobs. i graduated from maine university. i cannot find work. host: lauren williams? guest: i have not seen the coverage a lot of places anywhere, have you? host: he is not on the line. guest: i have not seen not covered in a lot of places.

and i hear that criticism for sure. and i do not really know what to say. i certainly do not know to say about black enterprise and ebony. but i certainly think that, and moving forward in the next four years, there's going to be a lot more in depth criticism across the board about the government on all of our site and magazines, for sure. host: wayne in michigan, republican caller. caller: i am wondering about the 92%. i am wondering, what percentage of that do you think are voting for him strictly because he is black? and i do not know the media doesn't point that out as being racist?

if i was born to vote for mitt romney may because he is white, there would be jumping all over me and i would be a racist. but you guys can get away with that. why is that? guest: black voters are historically different voting blocs. 90% of black voters voted for al gore. and the vast majority of black voters have been voting for white democratic presidential candidates for decades. so to say that they are voting for this black democratic candidate just because he is black does not make sense, because if he were a white democratic candidate, he would be getting close to the same amount of the voters. that argument really just as not

hold that much water when you look at the numbers of black voters who have voted for white democratic candidates in the past. host: indianapolis. michael, a democratic caller. caller: i'm calling in just to say that i got a good job, and i got my job through just hard work and everything like that. for a lot of people to come on the line and say that jobs is scarce around here -- i know people that get jobs that don't really pursue them. they can get them but they don't want them. that is one that thing. for people to say that obama did not do a lot for us as far as getting jobs and whenever, he tried to get a jobs at the bill through it and congress did not pass it through because they said it was going to keep

us from doing a lot of things. that is never brung up. i think the president is doing a good job as far as trying to get jobs in the united states. we should continue to try to get jobs, because there is jobs out there. host: michael? caller: yes, i am here. host: did you watch the presidential debates? caller: i sure did. i watched the first one, i watched the second one. host: did the two candidates talk about issues that matter to you? caller: of course they did. the president talked about jobs. in my state, the state of indiana, there is jobs here. they are building filling stations every day, and that is jobs right there. i don't know why a lot of people -- i mean, not complaining, but just amazing to

me how a lot of people are talking about, well, we cannot find jobs in the states, and there are a lot of jobs available, and everybody of ages and origins. there is a lot of jobs available out there, and i don't understand why people cannot find jobs when there has been jobs out here ever since the last presidency. host: here is from the root website. "topics we want to hear. of course, topics such as affirmative action a black unemployment won't come up, but we can dream." were they addressed? guest: oh, no. [laughter] none of them more, and i don't

think there is ever going to be a presidential debate were those topics are addressed. i think they were sort of dream topics, like affirmative action. affirmative action is in the news. there is a supreme court case right now. the candidates want to argue with each other and talk about their differences, but there's also some topics they just -- neither of them want to talk about. the housing crisis -- neither of them want to talk about that, because i don't think that is the topic for either of them. host: let me just jump in, to give context to what you are saying.

"high-rate mortgages more prevalent among blacks." guest: right. it is a topic that is of great interest to african-americans, but obama's policies have not been extremely successful, and i don't think that romney has an extremely strong plan for it. it wasn't discussed. poverty wasn't discussed, although african-americans have a 20% poverty rate. crime was mentioned very briefly -- the crime rate in chicago is absolutely dismal. they have topped 400 murders already this year. romney said something about gun violence and single mothers, a whole host of single mothers, where he connected the two. it was very cheap in terms of any sorts of solutions to gun violence or anything like that. i think that they can say they talked about it, but they didn't, really.

they obviously didn't mention disproportionate rates black unemployment with the private sector jobs, did not talk about the decrease in public sector jobs. african-americans at the historically over-represented in public-sector jobs. that has historically been a path to the middle class for african-americans, and we are still meeting this public- sector jobs and it is really hurting african americans. we're talking about increasing jobs but not about what types of jobs that they are and how they might be affecting different types of the community. host: kevin, independent caller bank. caller: i just wanted to address that since obama is an african-american now, we need to address the african-american unemployment rate, which is over 20%.

people call in and say that people are getting welfare -- nobody can survive on a welfare check for their family. nobody is sitting and collecting money at like they're just getting it from the government. it is a joke. we talk about the constitution and this stuff -- d.c. has no representation in congress. all of this gets swept under the rug, and it is african-american issues. we talk about like it is ok that they don't address african-american issues. what good is having a black president if he does not address african-american issues? guest: this is what people say, that barack obama is an african-american president but it is a hard position because he cannot directly speak -- well, the idea is that he cannot directly speak to african- americans, because that will alienate the rest of his constituents. he has to toe this line at all times.

i'm not saying if that is right or not, but that is how he feels and how a lot of supporters, white and black, feel. i agree with you, black male unemployment is a huge deal. last month, it fell nationwide and also for blacks it fell slightly. but something that is under- publicized is that all black job gains last month were black women. all of them. none of them were men. host: what industries? guest: not sure what the industry's work, but 100% of the gains were women. striking. that is an under-reported story, and something that deserves more attention from the highest levels, i completely agree. host: to you think there is more a lack of enthusiasm among african-american men and then with women for obama? guest: is a possibility.

i've not seen the polling data, so i am not positive on that, but there is a possibility. fromooking at articles north carolina, and in north carolina, the black support seems to be lower than in t.s. in practically other states that i've looked at polling data for. the black unemployment rate is a very bad there. host: this that leads to this headline from "the examiner"? is that because the african- american vote is not as enthusiastic? guest: i don't know, and i think the obama campaign is fighting against that. david axelrod said, no, we are doubling down on north carolina, virginia and florida.

some of the data from early voting -- i think 35% of early voting has been black voters -- host: in north carolina. guest: they make up 22% of the electorate, so that is a significant number. i think that maybe the obama campaign is a little more confident in that area than the polling data would suggest. host: nancy, georgia, republican caller. caller: first off, i want to let you know that i am a social worker, and the last 20 years, one of my main objectives is to help african-americans and whites work together. the thing that has been most offensive to me about barack obama is the way that he said that he would bring all of the races together. >> you can watch this anytime on

c-span.org. we go live now to cleveland state university. paul reimold talking about upward mobility and poverty. this is just kidding started live on c-span. [applause] >> thank you so much. look at this. wow. [applause] thank you. thank you so much. [applause] so warm. wow. [applause] wow. [laughter] thank you very much for that warm welcome.

i want to thank my friend whose family has been so good to me over the years. thank you, jimmy, for that great introduction. [applause] i also want to thank everyone here at cleveland state university for your hospitality. thank you very much. [applause] i especially want to thank president berkman for making this happen. we appreciate your hospitality. [applause] where's bob? over there. none of this would be possible and none of us would be here today without these extraordinary work of the center for neighborhood enterprise. we haven't friends for many years. -- we have been friends. [applause]

we are here in partnership on behalf of an idea. no matter who your parents are, no matter where you come from, you should have the idea in america -- the opportunity to rise cannot escape poverty, and achieve whatever your god-given talent and hard work enable you to achieve. in so many ways, our nation's history has been a struggle to bring opportunity into life. our nation was founded on the creed that all men are created equal, that we all possess equal rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. of course, the quality and opportunity has not always been a fact of life in our country. it is something we have had to constantly fight for. it is a cause that continues to this day. even though some many barriers

to equality have fallen, too many old inequities persist. too many children, especially african-american and hispanic children, are sent into mediocre schools and are expected to perform with excellence. they make up 38% of the nation's overall students, but they are 69% of the students identified as lowest performing. that's unacceptable. we owe every child the chance to succeed in life in this country. [applause] in the words of abraham lincoln, we owe them an unfettered start in the chance of life. upward mobility is the central promise of life in america. right now, the american engines

of the upward mobility are not working like they should. mitt romney and i are running because we believe americans are better off in a dynamic free enterprise based economy that fosters economic growth, opportunity come and upward mobility is of a government- directed stance that creates dependency. [applause] keynote there's something wrong in our country when 40% of children born to parents in the lower east -- lowest fifth of earners never know anything better. the question before us today demands a serious answer. how do we get the engines of opera mobility turned back on so that no one is left out of the

promise of america? to answer that, we have to take a hard look at the approach the government has been taking for the last five decades and ask yourself if it's working. the approach has been to spend lots of money on anti-poverty programs. the money behind this approach is that a nation should measure compassion by the size of the government and how much it spends. the problem is, starting in the 1960's, this top-down approach created a debilitating culture of dependency wrecking communities. this was so obvious to everyone by the 1990's that when a major welfare program was reformed, the law was passed by a republican congress and signed by a democratic president. instead of seeing increases in hungary and poverty, we saw

welfare enrollment drop to radically as millions of citizens gained new lives of independence. child poverty rates fell and we saw unemployment for single mothers or rise. if you were welfare checks going out meant more money for states to spend on child care. welfare reform worked because it encouraged the best in people. it appealed to their desire to shape their own destiny and advance in life. it made strides in getting the government out of the business of fostering dependency. here's the problem. the welfare reform mindset has not been applied with equal vigor across the spectrum of our anti-party programs. in most of these programs, especially recently, we still try to measure compassion by how much of the government spends,

not by how many people we help escape from poverty. just last year, total spending came in to more than $1 trillion. how much of that is practical? for that amount of money, you could give every pore american a check for $22,000. instead, we spend all of that money attempting to fight poverty through government programs and what do we have to show for it? today, 46 million people are living in poverty. that is one in six americans. it's the highest poverty rate in a generation. during the last four years, the number of people living on food stamps has gone up 15 million. medicaid is reaching a breaking point. one in four american students fails to obtain a high-school

diploma. in our major cities, half of our kids don't graduate. half. in this war on poverty, poverty is winning. we deserve better. we deserve a clear choice for a brighter future. what is the alternative approach that romney and i are offering? to hear some tell it, we think everyone should just fend for themselves. that is just a false argument. that is setup to avoid a genuine debate. the truth is mitt romney and i believe in true compassion and upward mobility. we are offering a vision based on real reforms to lift people out of poverty. look. "i'm a republican. our party does a good job to speaking to the part of the american dream that involves taking what your passionate about and making a successful living. part of what makes america

great is americans do not succeed, we look out to one another through communities. we have a vision of making the community stronger, but we do not always do a good job of laying out that vision. we want to change that. we understand the importance of community from experience. i come from a town that has been hit as hard as any. a lot of guys i grew up with and worked in the gm plant and they lost their jobs when the plant closed. what happened next is the same thing that happens in communities around the country every day. our term pull together. churches, charities, friends and neighbors were all there. in textbooks, they call this civil society. in my experience, i know it as the town i grew up in.

we not only understand the importance of community but he lived it. he's a guy who, at the height of a successful business, he took the time to serve as a pastor for 14 years counseling people in the inner-city boston neighborhoods. he is a man who could have easily contented himself with giving donations to these causes, but everyone who knows him well will tell you that he has always given his time and attention to those around him who are hurting. he is the type of of run into many around communities. here in cleveland and all around america. america is a compassionate people in there is a consensus about our fundamental obligations to society's most vulnerable. those obligations are not what we are debating in politics. most times, the real debate is

about whether they are best met by private groups or the government, by voluntary action or more taxes and corrosive mandates from washington. the short of it is that there has to be a balance, allowing government to act for the common good while leaving groups free to do the work that only they can do. there is a vast middle ground between the government and the individual. our families and neighborhoods, the groups we join, places of worship, this is where we lead our lives. this is where we live our lives. they help make us a self- governing people. earlier, we talked with some of the people who define civil society to make it work. dr. mitchell -- where is she?

she has been ministering to people in the inner city for decades. and reverend peterson who is a new birth project has helped ex offenders gain and maintain , and employment. [applause] where's brian? when he felt called to open a homeless shelter, he did just not volunteer his time. he and his wife move their family, a baby and two young ones into the shelter and lived there for seven years. [applause] he and his volunteers did does not provide clean clothes,

though that would have been a lot. he did not just give kids a safe place to come in off the streets. he give himself. he did not show people in need the right path. he walked it with them. not just as their guide but as a friend. this good man, and others like him, they are witnesses. the needy people who have encountered them feel it presents greater than just one compassionate soul. what is at work here is the spirit of the lord. there's no end to the good that it can inspire. the government cannot replace that. [applause] should we have the chance to

serve, i want you to know this. mitt romney and i share your cause and we will seek your counsel. we will remember your hospitality today and it will be returned. the transforming of your example will conform our approach to public policy. [applause] when the question is how best to help low-income families reached opportunity, we will not defer to the washington knows best crowd. we will talk to the real experts like those who are here in this room with us today. [applause] what is government's duty when it comes to the institutions of civil society?

basically, it is to secure their rights, respect their purposes come and preserve their freedoms. [applause] nothing undermines the essential and honorable work these groups do quite like the abuse of government power. take what just happened this past january when the department of health and human services issued new rules requiring catholic hospitals, charities, and universities to violate their deepest principles. never mind your conscience. from now on, you will do things the government's way. his mandate is not just a threat to religious charities. it is a threat to all of those who turn to them in times of need. in the name of strengthening our safety net, this mandate and others will weaken it. here's the good news.

when romney is president, this mandate will be gone. [applause] that's a fact. [applause] that is a fact. [applause] when that happens, these groups will be able to do and continue to do the great work that they do. that is not just the abuse of government that undermines civil society. it is also the excesses of government. look at the road we are on with trillion dollar deficits each and every year. that on this scale is so destructive in so many ways. one of them is that it crowds out civil society by drawing

resources away from private giving. even worse is the prospect of a debt crisis, which will, unless we do something different very soon. look. when the government's own finances collapsed, society's most of vulnerable are the first victims, as we're seeing now in the troubled welfare states in europe. many there feel they have nowhere to turn to for help. we must never let that happen here in america. [applause] where government is interested in providing a safety net, romney and i have our own sake -- our own ideas to keep it strong. it is a vision that leaves the failures of the past in the past and a proposal to build on those reforms that have worked. for starters, a romney-line

administration would restore those parts of the welfare reform law that have been undone or weakened. we would do this for the sake of americans who deserve to lead a life of dignity and freedom. we will also take other lessons from welfare reform successes. many of the solutions work in the 1990's came from such states such as my home state of wisconsin and leaders like tommy thompson. president clinton and congress recognized it would be a good idea to give states more power to tailor welfare to the unique needs of their citizens. [applause] romney and i want to apply this idea to other anti-poverty programs such as medicaid and food stamps. the federal government will provide the resources, but we will remove and less federal mandates to make these programs

more effective. if the question is what is best for low income people in ohio, should we not let people in ohio make that call? [applause] strengthening the safety net programs is still not enough. if we want to restore the promise of america are, then we must reform our broken public school system. [applause] it works for a lot of people but it does not work for everyone. special interests always seem to have their own futures lined up nicely, but when you think about the future of young adults the system has failed, many will face a lot of grief and disappointment. their country as them better

than that. i recently spent time at the cornerstone school, an independent school in as it is an independent school that has served urban students for many years. it is an amazing place. i talked today 6 greater name to a lexus. she's ready but i then i even read tell college. they are learning the values of discipline, respect, service, a lot for one another. >every child in america

should have this opportunity. sending your child to a great schools should not be a privilege of the well-to-do. that is why i believe the choice should be able to every parent wherever they live. freedom is the key. the strength of the safety net and the quality of our education system are among the plays were in the americans have the a stake. above all is the pressing need for jobs. [applause] right now 23 million americans

are struggling for work. in the has gone down each of the last four years. we do not need four more years like the last forfour. need a real recovery. [applause] mitt romney is a man who is uniquely qualified and ready to deliver this recovery. why? he understands what the economy works and what it takes to make it grow. like the best leaders, he has set a clear goal. 12 million jobs over the next four years. we can do this. it will take bold departures from the policies. and for years, neither president obama nor vice president biden

has offered the american people an agenda for a second term. mitt romney and i will give american workers back in the business of producing american energy. we will not add to the bureaucracy. we will get resources to the workers who need skills. when it comes to trade, we will crack down on countries that sheet. we will not bury our grandchildren and debt. the will stop spending money we just do not have. [applause] by the way, we will not raise taxes. we will cuts rates for small businesses and working families. that is how you help create jobs and prosperity. many of those are living in

poverty today. we can help them regain the ground they lost with a focus on growth all across the american economy. since becoming the nominee for vice president, i thought more than once about another man who ran for this job as a champion of growth and prosperity. you just saw his son. he was my mentor. .is name is jack kemp one of the things his friends love most about him was his big heart. when he talked about opportunity, he meant opportunity for everyone. we spoke about progress, and progress for everyone. that is the kind of. that any political party can use. over many years he spent his

part in mind to the problems of poverty, brushing aside a lot of the old assumptions. the same holds true for met romney. if you want to know how met ronnie will lead our nation, we did mitt romney will lead our nation, then look at how he will leave his life. he is a modest man with a charitable heart. he is a doer and a promise keeper. we have a message that is bigger than the party. we are speaking for all americans in this campaign. we believe that economic growth and equality of opportunity are the surest passed to the pursuit of happiness and america. wherever we are in life, whether we are rich or poor, black, brown, or rights, we are one nation rising or falling together.

[applause] that is the promise of america. we can make it real in the lives of many who feel left out. to all those americans, we ask you to support our campaign. our cause is yours and yours is ours. together we can achieve great things. thank you, everybody. god bless. thank you. i appreciate it.

[applause] katherine mangu-ward caller: [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> we have more coverage later today. we will have president obama's campaign in december. more from campaign 2012, at this one from new york's 27th house district. she's up against chris collins. we will have that korea 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. also, coverage of the debate with the candidates to be north carolina's next governor. this is live on c-span2 at 7:00 eastern. >> this is not true. >> you need to do a better job of explaining your own record. you are messing up mine. you're looking at somebody else. it is a shame. the people of the state of

florida are tired of you saying one thing to them and then going back to washington, d.c. and posing with barack obama 98% of the time. they're tired of that. they want you to look them in the eye and tell them what you do for them in some of barack obama. >> is that the only line that you have memorized? let me tell you that violence against women for your not to have produced it in the house where we were trying to produce it in the senate, here we are in 2012. it is true. you voted for a redefinition rape as forcible rape. it seems to me that rape is rape.

>> i regularly watch "washington journal." i watched the call-in shows in the morning and would ever there is a hearing that is of any significant i will soon end. i also watched c-span on line. suzanne provide a source of unvarnished --c-span provide a source of unvarnished today that is rare in today's spin-oriented society. we cannot regularly get the kind of information we need to make decisions for ourselves. we often have to hear it from the left or the right. the great thing about c-span is to get the information directly from the policymakers say you can make up your own mind. >> he watches c-span on time

warner cable. c-span, it traded by america's cable companies brought you as a public service. >> less than two weeks until election day. then it turns to the battleground states with a look at florida from today's "washington journal." starting today we are looking at battleground 2012, the nine states that hold the key to the election. the polls show that it is type why is florida about downstate?

guest: florida is always a battleground state, and it is very important in every election. 29 electoral votes, that is the biggest reason we are always a battleground state. host: break it down, the state, for us along the corridors. major highways that separate the state. and how they tend to vote. guest: well, the biggest swing area is hillsborough county, the tampa bay area. in 2000, at al gore lost 2004, john kerry lost hillsborough county. then at barack obama won it hillsborough county in 2008. hillsborough county is always a very important swing the county. there are a lot of independent

voters in the tampa bay area, and the type of voters that tendfor democrats, it is crucial, beach areas, they lose. it is very important for the numbers. as important as hillsborough county is, the democrats have to do well in south florida or they lose the election. host: the polls show mitt romney with a one-percentage point lead. where is the president looking strong, where is the president looking weak, and the same for governor romney in this state? guest: i think the president is looking moderately strong in south florida. there is a hard push on the republican side, if you pull

away some of the democratic jewish voters who have had some hesitation with the president over middle east issues, there has been a very heavy play of an ad by a super pac featuring netanyahu, the prime minister of israel, who basically says that the country is in danger. he does not speak obama's name in particular, but he certainly alludes to the fact that if we continue on the path we are going, things cannot go well for israel. that is something that will give it some jewish voters in florida pause. it is not that the republicans expected to get the majority of jewish voters or any other group that might lean towards barack obama. all they needed to do is nip off some percentage points for barack obama. if he does not do really well in south florida -- i'm talking big numbers -- he is going to be in trouble in that state. on the other hand, mitt romney needs to do pretty well within the hispanic community, he needs to decrease barack obama's

usually large numbers in the hispanic community. he needs to do very, very well in hillsboro, he needs to do well in jacksonville, throughout the i-4 corridor, which includes orlando appeared although in past election cycles, orlando has tended to lean and democratic. host: and voters in the 2010 census, persons of 65 years and older made up about 70% of the florida population. guest: if you had any doubt that we are a large retiree community in this state, that would be set aside if you saw the brush of medicare adds that we have going on in the state. that is a huge issue in this state. you see those kinds of ads being run not only on the presidential campaign, but congressional races, even though the legislature does not have much to do with medicare, they do have much to do with medicaid. playing with the notion that seniors will be threatened if republicans take control of the white house has been at a big issue for the democrats.

they like to play up the idea that seniors will get vouchers for medicare, and vouchers reminds me a great deal of when the republicans were trying to push changes to the estate tax, and one clever republican strategist said that we need to stop calling it the estate tax, because no one knows what that is. let's call it the death tax. no one wants to tax ma for dying. when people hear "voucher," they get very nervous. anything that messes with fixed income and they get nervous about. host: is the senior population of a florida leaning towards obama then? guest: i think the majority, particularly in south florida, will lean towards obama, but there are pockets of seniors who feel strongly about the deficit. they viscerally dislike obama. they feel like the government is out of control. for whatever reason they are less concerned about medicare, but they believe that obama is

going to destroy the economy, and i have to tell you, i run into any number of conservative seniors -- a gentleman just the other day who was convinced that barack obama is a muslim, a communist. i have heard him call a communist. there is a certain segment of seniors out there that are very frightened by barack obama. host: and that is the nature of this "new york times" piece this morning.

it talks about the billboard in florida, showing president obama vowing to the saudi king and blames him for soaring gasoline prices. it talks with socialism, communism, being a muslim, and a new anti-obama dvd. we heard from one voter in florida group received it this saturday. there were three different anti- obama at videos that were tested to see how far they could go to give us an idea of the tenor of the campaign in florida. guest: oh, the tenor is very high style on both sides. i would have to give a little bit more of an edge to the hard- core conservatives -- i don't want to lump everybody together. but there is a certain group of conservatives, as i just mentioned, who just have this

visceral hatred of barack obama that goes well beyond any policy issues. and even people i consider fairly thoughtful look me straight in the eye and, as i said, describe a communist, or lease as a socialist, that recommends that the country is on its way to destruction if obama gets a second term, talking about this being the most divisive time in our countries history, and they feared it it is all obama's fall. i sort of smile when i hear people describing this as the most divisive time in the country. they don't pay much attention to their history classes. at the democratic side is starting to get some of that fire back. but i have to say that what i have observed mostly on the democratic side, especially the lean-obama voters, is that they have been the "heavy sigh"

voter. they may have been enthusiastic for the president four years ago, but today they tended to have this heavy sigh -- "i am not really fond of mitt romney, i don't dislike him a lot, but i would still kind of like to vote for obama," and this sort of heavy sigh. those sorts of the voters may have been peeled away by mitt romney after the first debate people who were less enthusiastic about voting for obama this time. host: john in sarasota, florida, republican caller. caller: mr. crowley, i appreciate hearing you. i lived in sarasota county, and hillsborough county, tampa, we will go republican. but orlando is not a republican country. they had allen grayson -- alan grayson as a representative, and then they got rid of him. "the sentinel," the orlando paper, endorsed him. and from my former home town in boston, a fine university, suffolk county, they have polls

every four years, and they are pulling people out because it is a lost cause and in the state four obama. i think that obama is off route in florida -- host: john, i was actually citing polls that show romney up in florida. guest: i will be in boston in a few weeks, and i really love boston. i have to disagree with you a little bit. there is evidence that obama is working very hard in florida. they've spent a lot of time in florida, they've spent a fortune on campaign ads in florida, and i don't think they've given up on the notion

of winning florida. that is a reason that florida is a swing state. there is also a tactical thing here. they cannot concede florida. i do believe that florida is still in play, don't get me wrong. but as a tactical thing, it would not be good for the president or, frankly, mitt romney, to be suddenly pulling out of the state. they would be hammered in the media. the last candidate to pull out of the state was bill clinton in 1992, in the final weeks, and always said that he regretted leaving, because he felt that he could win at the state. he obviously one of the presidency, but it hurt him in florida when he pulled out. the race remains very close in this state, although i agree that the edge right now seems to be for mitt romney. host: brian crowley, what about newspaper endorsements? you're right about it on -- you write about it on

crowleypoliticalreport.com. "the tampa bay times" endorsed barack obama. do they matter? guest: i think the matter less than they used to. campaign commercials. newspaper endorsements matter a great deal for down-ballot candidates and issues, but a little less for presidential campaigns. i think that most people have their minds made up at this point. frankly, if you are an undecided voter at this point, i don't know what new information you are waiting for. [laughter] i would be a little puzzled,

because there's a lot of stuff out there and the campaigns have not been hiding. "the orlando sentinel" indoors after the first debate -- endorsed after the first debate, and it probably helped to get the supporters of mitt romney excited about flowed at a time when they were feeling a little momentum after the first debate. "the tampa bay times" endorsed a few days later. in none of those cases was that a particular surprise. host: lucy in florida. caller: i have a few reasons why i went from obama to romney. the present for that he is half-white. what turned me off -- president forgot that he is half-white print what took me off -- turned me off is the obamacare. nancy pelosi said "sign it , then read it."

i believe that obama has walked all over the constitution to he bypasses this congress when he cannot get his own way, and he cites presidential privilege. he and his wife have taken it to many vacations. -- too many vacations. it costs millions of dollars to send her and her friends to spend -- host: are you a retired -- caller: i live in a place with about 90,000 residents, and i think there are a lot of republicans in this area. host: did you vote for president obama in 2008 or john mccain? caller: obama. not this time around, though.

host: brian crowley, go ahead. guest: i have been to the villages many times. republican candidates love going to the villages. it is a strong republican of income and the woman who just spoke would have been an unusual od 2008 -- very strong republican area, and the woman who just spoke would have been an unusual voter in 2008 to vote for president obama. it is an extremely republican area. the people who develop to the villages also are big contributors to the republican party. criticizing the president for taking many vacations and trips overseas -- we heard some of the same complaints about president bush during his term. i think that everybody is entitled to a vacation. certainly welcome to come to florida. host: she was calling from lady lake, florida could where are the villages located?

guest: roughly northwest of orlando. host: jim in st. petersburg, democratic caller. caller: hello, brian. i just wanted to express my concern with the republicans. some say that barack is a muslim and all this negative stuff about our president. i think that we have had one of the best presidents we have had in a long time. i voted for him in 2008. i was not sure because of all the hearsay. now we have a republican running against him, mitt romney, and nothing coming out of his mouth to me sounds truthful. i don't know how we would risk our country to vote on someone that there is no truth in what he is saying.

i don't get it. host: hey, jim, can i ask you about the senate race? how do you plan to vote -- for bill nelson, the incumbent? caller: yes, i am going to stick with the democrat party, because i feel like the seniors and supporting -- democrats pretty much support everyone coming together in the universe. and peace. that is how i see it. we want good for all. host: here is jim on our twitter page. guest: well, i do think that the president's campaign has

struggled more this year that has been acknowledged. -- than has been acknowledged heard one of the biggest problems this president has had has been obamacare and his inability to communicate what obamacare would do. the republicans have done a very good job of portraying obamacare as something that will be destructive to the economy and destructive to small businesses, destructive to individuals. the president and his communications team have not done a very good job of communicating exactly what obamacare does to help individuals and help businesses. i think they have done a really sloppy job of that. in many respects, on that campaign issue, they have lost. you see a lot of that during the campaign this year to hit the campaign also suffered some one

from being on the sidelines during a very intense among republican primary, much longer than people expected it would be. some of that came home in the first debate when the president seemed a distant and in some ways ill-prepared. he certainly seems to have found his stride a bit in the last few weeks, but some missteps by the democrats over the last 11, 12 months have helped lead to this point where it is a much closer race than they expected. host: we are talking about the battleground state of florida here, with candidates crisscrossing across the country and hitting each of these nine battleground states and pouring their resources into these states as well. we will continue over the next nine days looking at swing states. as brian crowley mentioned, unemployment in that state, 8.7% in september. the 2008 vote went to president

obama with a net of 2.8% in that state. this talk about unemployment and the economy, brian crowley. how much of that is a factor in florida? guest: i don't think it was a coincidence that during the foreign policy debate, mitt romney kept bringing it back to the economy. most people turning in were not going to be paying that close attention to some of the foreign policy issues, and i don't think many motors go to t many -- voters go to the polls to vote based on what our decisions will be with china or cuba, for that matter. but they do vote with their pocketbooks. statewide unemployment in florida is 8.7%, but it is much higher in various pockets of florida. in some counties, as high as 12% on a plan. as we all know, that does not talk about the under-employed. the economy is still struggling

in florida. we have signs of it getting better, but i heard a story that foreclosures in the state are the highest in the nation paid there's a lot of economic pressure in the state. people are feeling the pain, and whoever sells the economic message best is going to do well in this state. i should add that the republican party in the state is very strong. in >> only have the governor's office, three cabinet -- they not only have the governor's office and three cabinet offices, but the state democratic party is probably the weakest it has been in its history. host: michael, independent caller ban. caller: my name is michael, and no matter who wins, whether it is ronny, obama, or even the third party, we have a war going on in afghanistan and elsewhere, but we have a war on our borders, that the drug war, like in florida. my question is -- it's like the legalize organization mafia is

going against the mafia itself. the question is, again, who is going to benefit from this thing in the end? is it going to be the states or is it going to be the mafia itself? host: michael, what are you referring to? caller: drug war, weapons brought in, and agents being shot. host: ok. brian crowley, is that an issue in florida? guest: i thought it was very telling during the foreign policy debate that there was no discussion about latin america, mexico, no discussion of cuba or haiti. in mexico, the drug war is very intense. we have and border issues there.

it was very telling that these campaigns did not get into those issues in any depth, or at all in some cases. i guess it just circles me back to they clearly believe -- certainly the republicans clearly believe that the economy is the overriding issue for voters. 1.5 million voters in this state are hispanic. many of these hispanic voters have a fairly recent ties to their homeland and other parts of the world. i think that not addressing that community more directly was perhaps a mistake that night. host: jeb bush, the former florida governor, and the head of the free cuba center in dc write in today's "wall street journal" -- "president kennedy showed fortitude and resolve in forcing the soviet union to stand down. whoever wins the election ought to deal similarly with today's intimidation and deception from the castro regime."

bocor town, flor caller -- brian crowley, did you want to jump in on that? guest: one of the things missed by people outside the state is that the cuban vote, while not what it used to be, certainly a hard-core exile community that believes in the embargo and his hardcore with issues relating to cuba, but there are second- and third- and fourth- generation cuban-americans that have more distance from castro and the regime and are more likely to vote democrat and more likely to not favor the continuation of the embargo. host: roy, go ahead. caller: i live about five miles away from lynn university, and i felt a strong empathic connection to my candidate mitt romney that night had i been moderating, i would have grilled

mitt romney a little bit more on his domestic policy. on the home front, i am just wondering if mr. romney and his wife are ever going to consider taking another position, or are they going to keep bumping their private sectors in missionary, grinding their knees? host: we will move on. just for those who may have missed this, for election night 2012, what will you be watching for? guest: i am going to be watching the democratic margin in broward, dade, and palm beach counties. it is critical for the president that he has very large numbers in these counties. that is where he built up his lead. in 2008, the president want 14 of 67 counties. -- won 14 of 67 counties. he needs to really win big in

those counties by several hundred thousand votes. the south florida margin in 2008 was 535,000 votes. southdoesn't do well in florida, he is going to lose. he also needs to at least keep it close in hillsborough county, the tampa bay area. the republicans would do well to win big in hillsborough county. the republicans will win in a lot of the other smaller, rural counties. they should do well in southwest florida, the fort myers- sarasota area. if we see any slippage in that area, that would spell some trouble for mitt romney. orlando -- the democrats should win the orlando area. the president should benefit from the large part to rican

population that is heavily democrat -- puerto rican population that is heavily democrat in the orlando area. if he is not doing well in the orlando area, it is not a good night for president obama. host: before we let you go, could we have a repeat of 2000, bush before? guest: --b bush v. gore? guest: we had a bit of the ballot problem in our county, and they were taking 30,000 ballots and workers that came in and they were copying the ballots on to new ballots >> no. there are observers from both the commercial campaigns.

daniel as well as state officials will come down to observe i would not be surprised at this election turns out to be exceptionally close. >> what about early voting? >> it gets under way 10 days before the election and in three before thedays election. i think we'll find some very early heavy voting. there are 4.2 million republicans and 4 + 7 million democrats. there are to blame 8 million that are independent. at 11.8 million.

>> brian crowley with the political report. thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> as president obama addresses today toward he will be in tampa tomorrow. he started the tour today in iowa. he will have a rally coming up an hour away. we will have that life for year more debates coming up. the latest from the n.y. 27 house district race. what's this debate here on c- span. also at 7:00, live coverage of a debate with the candidates to be no. carolina's next governor. this will be live.

a republican respect of on the winning the vote. >> is joining us. we just heard from our last guest. the democrats hold a 500,000 voter registration advantage. what is your ground game like in florida? spot in terms of our base. the polls show that the momentum is leaning towards mitt romney and the undecided. it is putting everything we have into turning out the republican base. host: what is your strategy?

guest: is a door knocking. and it is sorbates. it is unlike anything we have seen since 2004 with over 10 million voter contacts. there's a lot of energy out there. volunteers. first debate and that momentum host: you of volunteers pouring in. , need you have on the ground? guest: we have got over 40we are ahead of where we were in 2004 when george w. bush carried florida. granted. the obama campaign has a really

good ground game in florida. they began working on it in the state right after he was elected. wire. we feel like we are prepared. we are going to continue to contact voters. importance of hillsborough county, how's it looking for republicans? guest: i heard them say that obama would have to win hillsborough county, the have called every presidential election since 1960 with thehillsborough is important. the time i have spent in you look at what is on the ground compared to what we saw four years ago. there are many more mitt romney sons compared to the obamathe energy that you saw four good spot with mitt romney induval county -- he played wellhe got

48% of the vote. if he did that again it would allow him to minimize its losses and offset anything we might do in south florida. we do not expect that will happen again. host: what will you be watching for on election night? guest: you know, you can look at the spreadsheets, you watch the close. on election night, frankly, it is in the hands of the voters. believe that we put everything we had into this race. florida for mitt romney. will pull it off. host: do you think the senateas

well as the presidential race? guest: here is what we know. that connie mack was down significantly prior to the first debate. and in fact come and the call but we looked at four others were looking at, it looked like a really tough road for connie mack. gain momentum, we saw a huge shift in the polling with connie mack and bill nelson race. the verify the polling when we saw some of our own data. connie mack is within striking distance. is not as close between them as it is in the presidential race. but if the momentum continues, and connie mack continues getting his message out, it is possible. we feel like we could pull this off with our ground game host: here is a tweet from alford, he complete lack of leadership during the farm policy debate. it matters.

guest: well i do not know how he showed a complete lack of leadership. he has demonstrated a very wide and deep understanding of foreign policy. of the countries involved, of their leaders. the president of united states foreign policy in the middle east and around the world has been a success. a dead ambassador, two dead navy seals from a dead american, and other debt american, syria has killed 50,000 people. we find out the white house knew that a terrorist organization took responsibility for the attack, yet they continued with the message that it was a video. it can certainly have a debate on how to handle the middle east.

middle east is in chaos right now, and in chaos under thehost: with seniors the majority in florida, and you expect seniors to give up medicare and social security to make the president said he can cut it? guest: that is a false question. mitt romney is not going to get rid of social security or medicare. in fact, mitt romney has talked about the need to reform medicare for people my age, so that it exists for the next generation. or existing seniors, nor is social security. vote? the 27. absentee voting is going on right now. and let me talk a little bit about the absentee voting. we have about a 5% advantage on

the absentee vote right now. republicans have voted just over 40,000 more votes than democrats. the good news for us is, going into early voting, and into election day, we have about 200,000 more super voters than they do. we feel like we are in a good spot going back to the ground host: let us get back to phoneindependent caller, morena. go ahead. caller: i was listening to brian crowley when he was saying that both of the candidates need to mention immigration reform. and president obama was given a tough question and did not answer why. he did not even put any legislation for hispanics.

and i think that florida, virginia, california -- this is an important topic that the president and romney need to answer. they need to let us know if they are looking out for latinos and the need to let us know what exactly they are doing about foreign policy. guest: first dimension that the president did not do anything on immigration. there's a whole host of issues that the president did not do anything on purity did not focus on the economy, immigration. deficit. focused on his health care law. when you want to make the case for change, for firing somebody, you have to demonstrate that they have failed, and the fact is indisputable that the president failed on all of those fronts.

when you look at hiring someone, you look at a resonate, you look at their history. history is a really good predictor of how someone will preform in the future. that is white pepper resonates in interviews when we hire folks. with our debt. we know this about his history. president obama never had that success. host: we are talking with lenny curry, join in us from jacksonville, fla.. we have this special one forour next call comes from florida. caller: i wanted to get some information about, i lived in district 16, which is buchanan's district.

i haven't heard anything about the polling on his race with fitzgerald. guest: buchanan we believe is going to be retained as an incumbent. the polling looks good. i would say to republicans watching, you never want to be apathetic or take any rate for granted. show up and vote for buchanan and make sure your neighbors and friends do as well. we are in a good spot in that race. we expect to retain our own comments and pick up a couple of other congressional seats. host: what about alan west versus patrick murphy and also florida's second district there? >> our polling tells us that sutherland will return.

again, we do not want to be apathetic. this is a presidential rate. it is clear to affect everything from the obama campaign. we are encouraging oliver voters in each congressional district -- encouraging all of our voters in each congressional district to vote. our message has been at this, the stakes are too high. this is not a time to be politically correct. we must tell our friends, and church towers, tell everyone why we are voting for mitt romney. and for our congressman as well. if we offend someone in doing that, so be it. the stakes are just too high. this is about the future. host: democratic caller,

patrick. you are on. go ahead. a flip-flop are and a liar. he states he is for 100% of the people, but behind closed doors, he says he does not care about 47%. he says the president is the reason for the high oil prices, he mentioned the keystone pipeline from canada. well, the president has nothing to do with oil prices, it is demand, opec and the oil speculators. host: we will take as two issues. guest: does better romney himself said that the remarks made about the 47%, he could have said them more eloquently. they could have been better stated. gov. romney is in fact for all of the united states of america. right now, in the united states, we have a spending problem and a job creation problem.

over 20 million people and the united states do not have a job. the of $16 a trillion in debt. republicans made a mistake in the past year to go back to 2006, the voters threw out of the house. the senate. we acknowledged our mistake. but the key difference between republicans and democrats, it go back to that era, we got caught got caught up to spending, there did not seem to be a consequence. it was a mistake and we own up the mistake for the democrats is an ideology, it is aware of light. we see that the way that youso, if you are looking for problems and get us back to work nationally, mitt romney is the resonate shows that. if you are in florida, we are

headed in the right direction because of the florida legislature. over 150,000 private-sector jobs were created in florida. i will tell you the president of united states oppose the policies of not at all the blue states. host: in miami, paul, republican. caller: i want to stress that we need a balanced budget amendment. i want to hear it on the radio. i want to hear the candidates stress it. that is the most important thing that we need. we cannot be spending what we are spending. and i know that the other side against us is going to say that,

in the case of an emergency, i of a hurricane or something like that. every year that we do not have. i want to hear mitt romney. guest: governor romney is reduce in our deficits. i can tell you when you talk about a balanced budget, talk about the united states senate race, senator nelson as on the senate committee, and have not passed a budget in hundreds of days. connie mack is committed to a everyone says, what are the specifics of mitt romney? the president of united states is in office for almost four years now, and he is not attacked any of these problems. in fact, a day or two ago he put out that the pundits are saying -- is the same old thing, it is nothing new. the president has failed us.

i would ask your viewers, when you are evaluating the cases there, it is indisputable that president obama has not dealt with deficits, debt or job creation. and if you get the history of mitt romney, this is a man that every endeavor he has ever approached, he has been successful. he will get our spending under control and get americans back to work. host: about that put out by the obama administration about his agenda for the next four years, it can find it on our web site. we will go to john next and illinois. democratic caller. caller: my main question is -- the gentleman thinks that a republican administration would do differently in the middle east? not specifically benghazi or libya. host: what would republicans do differently in the middle east? guest: governor romney brought in the debate that after the president was elected, he went on the apology tour, did he go

back and watch the debate -- you can read the president, he did not like that president, he did not really even respond to the question and he pivoted somewhere else. one would want to be respected around the world. we know and our own personal lives, if people do not respect you, they will run over you. and right now, we are not respected in the middle east. the president spent the first part of his administration apologizing for the united states. these are complicated issues. the house to be a discussion about how we are going to handle foreign policy geared goner not need to be engaged

militarily and other countries, respect us and they need to knowthere will be sanctions and the sanctions will be crippling. that is what mitt romney would do. host: republican caller. caller: are willing to say only a handful of people -- obama, as he says, he has not been successful. the first two years of his term, he had a majority in both the house and the senate. what did he accomplish? very little. as far as his reputation and our reputation in the middle east, he has embarrassed the american people over and over and over. and he turned his back on israel. i tell you, i have known a lot of horrible people in my life. i have never met, and i am not a mormon, i am a baptist. but i have never met a mormon that i did not trust or like. they are good people.

and i know they love this country. host: i will leave it there. if i could give you this tweet -- how many people in florida at live off of savings and come? for business they built and expect the aca taxes to cut that? guest: the question is how many live off of savings and common business and come? host: or a business they built and expect the affordable care act taxes to cut into that income? guest: outside of my role as chairman of the republican party of florida, i started my business many years ago. the affordable care act, the uncertainty of it, how will affect our employees, what we have seen with the cost of health care, there is a lot of uncertainty there.

the affordable care act is a government takeover of health care. governor romney is committed to repealing it and getting rid of it. it's not good for business. it creates too much uncertainty. it is not the way forward. no pun intended on the obama ford campaign. host: next call from an independent. caller: i just have to comment on the foreign-policy debate. romney agreed with the president 90% of the time, so how is he different from obama? romney claimed to be an economic guru and he was governor of massachusetts. massachusetts ranked near the

bottom on job creation. guest: the first part was foreign-policy. in the debate, mitt romney did agree with some of the diplomacy in terms of foreign policy president obama talked about. but he also talked about a need for even more crippling sanctions. their record is there for president obama. iran is closer to a nuclear weapon. syria, over 50,000 of their people slaughtered. benghazi is still unraveling. a debt ambassador, to dead navy seals, and there are talking about a video the next day and the president was running around doing talk shows. that is a failed foreign policy in the middle east. governor romney has a track record of creating jobs.

he is going to be that by in sending businesses with the right regulation, the right kind of regulation in the right size regulation, crippling regulation, and creating a tax environment that incentivizes business to invest their capital in equipment and in people. people which are the most valuable resource of any organization, hire more people and get people back to work and get america turned around again. here is the question we have to ask ourselves -- is this the new normal? the president would have us believe how we live now is the normal. host: if i could jump in and add this to the conversation --

>> the president of the united states had the house, senate and presidency for two years. where was his jobs plan then? after four years, over 20 million people don't have a job. i appreciate that question, but the facts are just not on the side of the president of the united states. the president had a blank check for two years. the house, the senate and presidency and the ram health care down our throats without any compromise with republicans, and he didn't focus on jobs. it's all about jobs right now. people need a livable wage. they need a purpose and a calling when they get up in the morning. the president would tell us this is the new normal. mitt romney is for a higher calling and a brighter and better day in the united states of america.

caller: you fail to realize congress didn't agree with the president on anything as far as affordable health care does. he had each member of congress add or take from that bill and let finally came before the floor, not one republican congressman voted for it. that infrastructure would have had each state of the highways and would have created -- maybe 5.6 unemployment rate. this congress agreed and republicans in the senate as well that they wanted this to be a one-term president. 30% of people are going to vote against the obama simply because he is black. we already know that. he is a nobel peace prize winner because he went overseas immediately to make peace with

all this warmongering with romney and the other night, during the last debate, he is in agreement that we should bring those troops out at a certain time. everything i have seen about romney from television commercials to the private tapes and recordings has all been ally. host: let's leave it there and have the chairman respond. guest: the caller just said our foreign policy produced peace and let's look at the middle east right now. we've had that discussion. as far as the affordable health care act, republicans did not vote for it and the caller made the point talks about bridges, roads and infrastructure. this is an important point. the president had the house, the senate and the white house for two years. he could have accomplished these

things and he chose not to focus on the things he is now saying republicans block. host: thank you very much for your time. guest: always a pleasure. >> we will look at democrats' efforts in florida in just a moment. president obama will be in florida tomorrow. he is in colorado for a campaign rally there. at 4:55 eastern, we will have it live on c-span. war debate coverage coming in tonight -- the debate between that 27 house seats in new york, the democratic congresswoman facing the republican. meanwhile, on c-span2, this will be live, the north carolina governor's debate. that is live on c-span2.

let's go back to this morning's washington journal and a focus on democrat's efforts in the state. host: let's begin with the democrats began -- ground game. what they need to have them place an order for president obama to win reelection in florida? guest: good morning and thank you for having me. the ground game looks really well and i would give the one metric. traditionally on absentee ballots, it is elections month and you have the absentee ballots and early voting and you have the november 6 election itself. on absentee ballots, republicans have outpaced democrats by 15, 30%. 800,000 votes have been cast in the state of florida. our secretary of state posts the returns on line and we know who

voted and the democrats are one or two points behind republican. that's a really good sign for the democratic party and for the president. host: what about the ground game? guest: that is a sign of the ground game. you see folks getting absentee ballots returned and early voting starts on saturday. we will know what the ground game looks like on satda all early indicators are good. there was a poll done by republican pollster just of those who returned ballots in early voting. i did not hear what mr. curry has to say but it's a razor-thin election right now. a poll came out by reuters saying obama is up by one and another said it romney is up by one. but among absentee ballots, it is a dead even race. republicans should be winning

that by 4, 5, 6 points like they did in 2008 and 2010. host: what is your take on hillsborough county? guest: for your viewers, that is considered to be an important area because of the largest number of swing voters. in florida, when you register to vote in florida, you choose a party and large number of independent voters -- it is a battleground zero and why the republicans hold their convention there. right now, it is neck and neck. what's interesting around that is i know the polls are showing things are dead even. the president is going to do well in south florida. when i say south florida, i mean southeast florida. that is dade county, miami dade

county, palm beach county. the president will do extremely well there. there are large numbers of democratic voters. romney has to get 53% in that area. >> the senate race there and a key congressional races, fla.'s 18th race, we just heard from the gop chairman that he thinks connie mack could pull this out and in those two congressional races, the republican incumbent will return to congress. guest: i will tell you straight up whether someone is going to win or lose. there is no way connie mack is going to beat bill nelson. connie mack was blistered by his republican opponents. yet some personal issues and attendance issues in congress.

it speaks to the large and diverse population of florida. he comes from a very strong republican area, so it's no geographic advantage. bill nelson's old district is on the eastern end of that corridor. he is a very well like congressman and serve that community very well. he is going to do exceedingly well. there is no other variable other than geography. he is going to carry those both very well. connie mack gets no advantage because he is from southeast florida. he has far more money in the bank and will out communicate connie mack all the way from today through december. i don't know if there's a serious pollster who thinks he has a reasonable chance of winning. you asked about some congressional seats -- the house has to pick up 25, the democrats

have to pick up 25 to take it back. it doesn't look like they are going to do that. florida will deliver. former congressman alan grayson, alan grayson has found a seat he's going to win in and alan west got moved. physically moved because he was lumped in with the west palm beach mayor. he's going to win that seat. alan west is in a bit of a dogfight. you asked about the seat in florida -- that was an unexpected surprise. he came in with the tea party way that looked like he is going to be reelected but a long time house member, and i have to use the love it because he's been a hard working public servant. his senate seat, they know they liked him and surprising everybody, he came out of the

primary was very strong numbers. this race is now neck-and-neck. it's anybody's call who wins. the republicans are spending large sums up -- large sums of money. al lawson has been known for having a strong grass-roots effort. he is in a bit of a dogfight. host: battleground florida is the topic here. guest: we will deliver two house seats. we could potentially deliver three, maybe four. dan webster is getting a run for his money. we could deliver for seats nationally. host: for the next 20 minutes, we are focusing on the nine swing states the candidates are

putting their resources in. tomorrow, we will look at nevada. our guest is a former democratic consultant joining us. you are up first. >> -- caller: let me tell you i can't believe these people are hearing the same thing. i've never been so ashamed of being a democrat and i'm going to change my party's affiliate's. i've never seen more crooked administration than this. they had a voter intimidation charge against a bunch of black people, what happens? obama's administration's sweeping it under the rug. it's that kind of administration from the word go. he prevented congress from being able to investigate a u.s. attorney and it just is continue to grip goodness and racist -- i

raised my kids not to be racist but i have never seen a more racist person in my entire life. guest: i did not know the president had the power to tell congress they can't investigate something. but i think dave is emblematic of -- i shouldn't say emblematic, but here is a registered democrat to vote republican and we have all lot of that in north florida -- people who are registered democrats. we call them reagan democrat. they tend to vote republican at the top of the ticket but i would guess you voted democrat in your local elections and that's an important demographic. if the president does well, a lot of rural areas but who has directly vote top of the typical

public -- top of the titbit -- top of the ticket republican. but if he can hold his own, he can hold the state. >> but me get your take on foreign-policy issues. that was the topic earlier this week. this is front-runner -- -- this is from twitter. there were e-mail's saying there was a militant group responsible for that attack. does this play in florida? guest: first of all, the president did extremely well and am the first in line to say he did not do well on the first day but he's done exceedingly well on the second two debates. what you saw on the debate on foreign policy was the ever- changing mitt romney, the etch a sketch mitt romney changing his position. he said at no time line in

afghanistan. now he says he likes the idea of a time line and we have to get out quickly. but at the end of the day, the accumulation of what the american people saw in that debate was pretty much the romney saying me to to obama's policy. it's almost like everything obama would say -- he could not say the words i agree but it is clear he was agreeing with the president's policy. i thought it was interesting romney did not bring it up and almost wanted to shy away from a because he was out right wrong when he said he did not call it a terrorist attack. he is the commander in chief carey has a lot of information coming in. when he is speaking, he's not speaking to the electorate. i thought the president did well on that debate and i don't think that micro issue is an important public policy issue.

we have a large jewish population in southeast florida and they care about how the president treated israel. by all accounts, they are very happy with the president on foreign policy. host: this is from twitter -- guest: in large numbers, what do floridians care about? we care about -- except those in north dakota, we are worried about jobs and the economy. but we are looking at a state that is starting to turn things around. the largest expansion of medicare -- when that bill came due, heard mr. currie complaining about the deficit. how we got about into that deficit. we are now looking at 31 straight months of job growth.

a metric that unemployment is headed in the right direction. we just got some very good news in florida earlier this week that for the first time in four years, we are projecting a budget surplus. florida is a tourism-based economy and we are heavily reliant on sales tax for our budget and for the first time, we are looking at a budget surplus which means things are turning around. consumer confidence is up and housing starts are up. an interesting contrast -- we have a governor and i have been critical of him. but he has been singly, almost obsessively focused on jobs. he's been traveling on a world helping businesses get together and bring on business deals. that is having an impact. when romney comes to florida and says the economy is horrible, rick scott says wait a second. our economy is doing pretty good.

that is one of the things florida voters are looking for. is the economy moving in 31 straight months of job growth. more than 4 million new jobs created in the state. what floridians can look forward to is a strong and growing economy. are we going fast enough? when we look at the world economy, china is going in the tank, europe is going in the tank, and we have a republican leadership is as their number one goal, not the number one political goal, their number one political goal is to obstruct obama even when he's doing the right thing for the american people. we are going to hold on to the senate. that is clear. you can hold on to strong foreign policy and good, steady job growth. host: our next call is a

republican from lake worth. caller: what is the new law president obama passed in regards to one of the people who can apply that are disabled and what are the new laws obama passed for the banks that now have to accommodate the disabled? host: that is a real specific question. i'm not sure if he can answer that. caller: in -- what new law has obama passed to now start restructuring mortgages and allowing more bar wars to apply for a mortgage? >> let's just take the issue of foreclosures because you touched

on that a little bit. where does that rank on top issues for florida voters? question. 's a good obama doesn't pass laws. the legislature has to pass laws and he has to sign them. one of the important economic engines in florida as we have an import called retirees. florida is a great destinations state for retirees. when the housing bubble crash, you had a lot of people building homes in southwest florida, building homes expecting retirees to come. when the bubble hit, you had a lot of people frozen in their homes. if you are in pittsburgh and new york thinking of retiring, you can't sell your home because it has lost so much value. we were bringing in a net of a thousand people a day in florida and we were growing steadily. that stopped almost overnight.

we had a large number of people in their homes, a record number of foreclosures. the day after the housing bubble crash, it wasn't just people living in their homes, but developers and investors. my sister lives in one of those developments and suddenly it was frozen. we saw the banking reform that said banks were starting to leverage their leverage. we were betting on derivatives of derivatives and when that cap -- when it crashed, everything came tumbling down. democrats and republicans came together to some degree to pass some restrictions to not allow the banking committee to go so far overboard that we don't have this whole big too big to fail thing. some of that has not been well done. some of those banks have gotten larger, but this is an important issue to floridians. we are finally starting to see that turnaround.

new-home sales are starting to go up. we're starting to turn the corner. one of the earlier callers -- mr. currey talked about how obama had two years to turn this thing around. i heard this speech with mitt romney talking about when he would take over a company that it would sometimes take six months to a year to turn around. this may be a company with 2000 employees. you are talking about a nation with 315 million people and connections oliva of the blow. you can't just wave a magic wand and turn the economy around. it takes years. it didn't take us six months to get into this mess and it will take six months to get out. almost three years of nonstop private sector job growth. unemployment headed in the right direction. hopefully the deficit will follow and that will go down as well.

host: a democratic caller from maryland. caller: good morning, c-span. i want to speak about -- there is a little joke the republicans like to call people that support the president, they consider him the messiah. i don't think it's because we support him, i think it's because congress has tried to crucify him so many times. i do believe the filibuster rules did not help. yesterday, -- i heard a policeman in florida call in and he was upset because he bought his home and it was worth

$325,000 when he bought it and now it's only worth $150,000. he is a county policeman and he seemed to blame that on obama. i remember early when everything was so bad, this president was crucified for his stimulus. this man was one of the most direct receivers of that stimulus. to keep them in their working positions so they could pay their rent and buy their food which kept other people -- he caught so much grief. to go to douglas in farmington, mich.. go ahead, douglas. caller: you brought up something

really good about the filibuster. the representative from florida has said they have had great job growth in florida. i'm wondering did they accept any stimulus money like wisconsin? also, romney said it would take the -- it would take him eight to 10 years to fix the economy. the president has only had four years and he had done more in that time than any other president. >> i think romney said it going to take eight to 10 years to fix the deficit. that's an aggressive posture. it takes a long time to turn things around. the filibuster was created in 1917 as a way -- the senate has this thing called cloture. when things have gone bad, they shut down the process. it was only used an average of

once a year. in the last congress, the u.s. senate invoked cloture on average once a week. that's not an attack on republicans or democrats, by congress has become far more partisan than it ever has. they have moved to the far left and far right ranks and that's why i think the american people are so dissatisfied with congress. here is the president, rock solid, dead center. let me give you one example. the affordable care act. this is not a democratic idea. that comes from the heritage foundation and was first sponsored by john chafee of rhode island under the tutelage of newt gingrich. this is an idea that individuals need to be responsible for their own health care and that's for the idea of the individual mandate, the cornerstone of obamacare comes from. this is a centrist idea thought

of by a conservative think tank. i heard mr. burry -- i heard mr. curry say it's a government takeover of health care. it is not. asking people to take personal responsibility for health care what all this at some point in our lives will avail ourselves of the health-care system. the president seems to muddle host: here is a tweet from a viewer. independent from florida. you are next. caller: i was against obama. after the 47%, and started leaning toward him. after the debate, i started leaning toward romney. after the third, i started doing

some research. why is that something that obama is not stressing in his ads? why is he not going back to the 47%? host: ok. steve vancore. guest: what offended me was not necessarily the 47% comment. we are hearing that was a mis comment. usually amiss, and is when someone gets any wrong. he began attacking many americans. -- usually a miscomment is when someone gets a name wrong. he began attacking many americans. talking not hard-working

americans. these are disabled people. retired military. these are people who have given their share to america. on both sides of the equation, there are people who are moochers and shakers. host: democratic caller. caller: thank you. we have had a stimulus that came to florida, especially tampa. then more money came in. the governor we have now refused that money. it was like $1 billion. a lot of jobs left the state because we did not get that money. i wonder how can you say the governor now is good for jobs when all those jobs went to

other states? host: steve vancore. guest: excellent question. anyone who is driven knows that you need a high-speed transportation and real. it was a stunning thing that he turned it down. there is something that our governors are doing good. he has been working on jobs. i have called him out repeatedly. i do not think he should have turned on the money. it was not going back into the u.s. treasury. someone else is going to write on that trial. it looks like in the new jersey corridor. i would have loved to leave that money in florida. when the governor shot down that badly needed rail system, he is pushing a real system to a not really a heavily traveled area. we needed from tampa to orlando.

you are right. there were tens of thousands of jobs. a private company came and said it would guarantee the revenue on it, but it was still turned down. i think the governor regrets making that decision. host: we have a couple of minutes. a republican line from michigan. please keep it short if you can. caller: president of bachmann needed more time, but if you look at ronald reagan -- president obama needed more time, but if you look at ronald reagan -- can you compare those two a little bit? can you explain why president obama needs more time? guest: absolutely. ronald reagan raised taxes. if you are asking for a quick

comparison, obama has not raise taxes on americans. taxes are lower for the middle class under obama. host: democratic caller. please make it quick as well. caller: i appreciate you being a good democrat. i think basically -- i have two special needs sons. people who do not have a hard life do not understand the democratic point of view. i appreciate you trying to make things better and i thank you for your democratic comments. host: he talked about the democratic dewpoint vs the pocketbook. -- viewpoint versus the po

cketbook. sure what the -- if romney does not get above a certain percentage in certain counties, he will have a hard time making that up. if turnout is low let it was in the 2010 election, it will be a hard night for obama. right now it is razor-thin. we look good among absentees'. hopefully we will look good among early votes. host: steve vancore. guest: can i make a final comment? host: we have a at a time. i'm sorry. steve vancore, we appreciate your time. >> president obama is in denver,

colorado's this evening. we will take you there live in about 20 minutes for the rally. more debate coverage coming up for you this evening. the candidates to represent new york's district is here on c- span at 7:00 p.m. eastern. and live car average for the debate -- and live coverage for the governor's race in north carolina. also on c-span. >> what he said is not true. >> senator, you need to do a better job of explaining your record because you are messing up my record. apparently you are looking at somebody else. it is a shame. the people of the state of florida are tired of you saying one thing to them and then going

back to washington, d.c. and a voting for barack obama at 98% of the time. they are tired of that. they want you to tell them what you will do for them instead of what he will do for barack obama. >> senator, 30 seconds. >> is at the only line you have memorized? let me tell you that violence against women for you not to have produced it in the house where we were trying to produce it in the senate is -- here we are in 2012. it is true. you voted for a redefinition of "forcible rape." it seems to me that rape is rape. >> follow the key house and senate races on c-span, c-span and radio, and on c-span.org.

>> president obama is coming up in about 20 minutes. until then, we will take you to a conference at the pentagon. defense secretary leon panetta and south korea's defense minister will be speaking. >> good morning. it is my privilege to welcome defense minister kim to the pentagon. this is the fourth time the

minister and i have met and the second time that he and i have led the annual security consulting meeting held between the civilian and military leadership of our two defense establishments. in the course of these meetings, and numerous other consultations we have had, the two of us have established, i believe, a strong working relationship. that relationship reflects the strength of the united states republic of korea alliance. today the minister kim and i affirm this alliance will remain a cornerstone of stability in northeast asia into the future. i assured the minister that the united states stands fully committed to the security of the republic of korea. make no mistake -- we will provide the forces and the military capabilities needed to help maintain security on the

korean peninsula. we are also committed to deepening and adapting our defense cooperation to meet the evolving security challenges in the region. the focus of much of our discussions was north korea. north korea remains a serious threat to both of our nations. a serious threat to reaching global stability. over the past year, north korea has continued its pattern of defiance and provocative actions. including the unsuccessful test of a ballistic missile capability. we reaffirmed that north korean aggression or military

provocation will not be tolerated. we will continue working shoulder to shoulder to demonstrate our combined resolve. the united state and the republic of korea are committed to close consultation for capabilities to counter north korean threats. we will continue to enhance close ally of cooperation to address wide-ranging global security challenges including reconstruction efforts, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, in counter proliferation. mr. kim and i agree the need to strengthen cooperation with respect to protection of space

in cyberspace domains. we must ensure that this alliance stays ahead of the cyber threat. we also welcome the signing of a space cooperation terms of reference for bilateral military space cooperation which formally establishes a united states republic of korea defense working group that will address space policy, architecture, training, and personal exchange. new defense strategy of the united states makes clear that as the military emerges from a decade of war we will rebalance store the asia-pacific region. is important to global prosperity.

a stronger u.s. republic of korea alliance is a critical part of this rebalancing efforts. but we conclude. we are approaching the 60th anniversary of the end of the korean war and the birth of the alliance between the united states and the republic of south korea. for 60 years are to countries -- our two countries have stood side-by-side and forged security and prosperity for our nations. we have been tested time and time again. we have met every challenge. the reality is over the last 60 years we have preserved peace in the peninsula and that

region. as a result today, this alliance is stronger than ever. i would like to think minister camera -- kim for his commitment to this alliance and to our shared goal of a prosperous future for our people and for our nation's. thank you. >> this year's meeting was held amid incredible security be situation. -- security situation.

this was all on the earlier thinking against the island. there were also held at a meaningful time since next year will mark the 60th anniversary since they korean war and the caribbean/united states alliance. we discuss cooperative measures for peace and stability of the peninsula as well as tests for the future development of the alliance. our discussions have produced outcomes. secretary the net and i shared -- secretary panetta and i shared our common view that the two countries should have a shared vision to assure the progress. as a celebrate the 60th anniversary, we agree to join me develop the vision that will allow our relationship to continue evolving into an alliance. we noted that this deters no. 3 -- north korean

in provocation in making positive operations to the peace of the peninsula and that continued the robust future. as part of these tangible measures, the u.s. reaffirmed its firm commitment to the security of the peninsula by remaining the current forces in korea and and rightfully providing reinforcement in the event of contingency. we affirm our shared view that north korea's military capabilities such as nuclear weapons programs and missiles would be serious threat not only to the security of the korean peninsula but to that of the world as a whole. in order to promote the u.s. commitment to provide deterrence, the two countries

agreed on the concepts and principles for a bilateral deterrence strategy against north korean nuclear threat and decided to develop a tailored strategy based on these concepts and principles. in order to better address the threat from north korea, the two countries agreed to agree the guidelines. we have a shared view that the revision will greatly contribute to the development of combined capabilities into a stronger alliance. this is the real schedule for the implementation of this strategy alliance 2015 and reaffirmed we will work closely in this area. in particular, at the countries agreed to jointly develop a

future command structure that will ensure military efficiency after the trenchard -- transition of wartime control. secretary panetta appreciated the transition to peace and stability including the reconstruction of afghanistan and haiti to deal forces in lebanon. we agreed to conitnue working closely to address regional and local security challenges. in order to meet the demands for security cooperation and the areas of space in cyberspace, and the two countries concluded the terms of reference on military space cooperation based on which will form a body for cooperation and further promote cyber cooperation among the agency.

let me conclude by expressing my credits to buy the hospitality -- my gratitude of the hospitality of secretary panetta. this year is an opportunity to strengthen the republic of korean. the cree and united states will -- south korea and the united states will continue to work more closely sell our alliance will go well into the future. thank you. [inaudible]

>> i was wondering if the us government is considering any type of plan to deploy troops in case of north korean provocation? what extent the government planning? after the announcement, lawmakers and south korea raise speculations that washington wants them to join the missile defense. he tell the u.s. government's -- can you tell us the u.s. government's position about the issue? >> on the missile defense, what did you want me to clarify? >> every speculation that washington was held to join the u.s. missiles.

in the asia pacific region. we would like to hear the u.s. government's position. >> with regards to any provocations from the north, it is very clear if that south korea and the united states have a strong cooperative relationship and that when those provocations occur that we will work together to determine what kind of response should be provided in necessary. i was relieved that the balloon incident which raised concerns about potential provocation did not occur. at the same time, i think both minister kim and i have made clear that we will continue to watch closely to make sure that those kinds of provocations do not take place and that in the end if they do take place that both south korea and the united

states would be prepared to respond. with regard to the missile guidelines, south korea and the united states have worked through the issue of missile guidelines. we have various conditions that both of us have agreed to as to how that would operate. we're going to continue to do further work to refine those conditions and make sure we are clear as to how that decision would be implemented in future. with regard to future of this offense, at that is an area we continue to discuss an order to make sure we have all the defense is necessary to deal with the missile threat coming from north korea.

whatever steps are necessary to try to make sure that we are prepared for that. we just talked about deploying a radar system to japan specifically in order to protect against that kind of missile threat. we will continue to work with our friends in the region to further develop that kind of capability. >> next we will go to bob burns of the associated press. >> is it your view that outside military incantation is needed in and what military role with the u.s. be willing to play? can you comment on reports of the rebels in syria now have u.s. [inaudible] >> you can watch all this at our c-span library at c-span.org. we will take you to city park in

denver. this is getting under way to live out here on c-span. ♪ >>, hello colorado. -- hello, colorado. [cheers and applause] thank you. are you fired up? are you ready to go? are you fired up? are you ready to go? [cheers and applause] i am fired up. thank you. can everyone give him a great part of applause for that great introduction? [applause]

we have some good friends here today. you have your outstanding governor here. one of the senators in the country, mr. bennett. you have an outstanding congresswoman. they're wonderful -- your wonderful mayor. and all of you are here and, which makes me excited. [applause] this is the second stop on our 48 hours marathon extravaganza flying around. we are pulling an all-nighter. we have just come from iowa. do we have some iowans here?

[laughter] nevada andway to we'll go to florida and virginia and ohio. i will also stop in chicago. vote. i cannot tell you who i am voting for. buts a secret ballot, michelle says she voted for me. that is what she said. [applause] you can vote early in illinois just like you can vote early in the colorado. this might not be the last time you will see me. [cheers and applause] i have come to ask you for your vote. i have come to ask you to help me keep moving america forward.

we have gone through three debates and too many tv advertisements. oh, yes. got an amen over here. romney has been running around saying he has a five point plan for the economy. don't do. vote. -- don't boo. vote. that is a way to show your opinion. romney only has a one point plan. he wants to outsource more jobs. let wall street run wild. if this plan sounds familiar, it is because we have tried it. we have tried it in the

administration before i took office. it led to record deficits and the worst economic crisis since the great depression. we have been working for four years to clean up this mess that these policies have left behind. governor romney knows this. he knows his plan is not any different than the policies that led to the great depression. in the final weeks of this election, he is counting on you for getting what he stands for. he is hoping that you as well will come down with the case of romnesia. he is hoping you will not remember that he is economic plan is more likely to create jobs in china than here in the united states. he is hoping you will not remember that he wants to give millionaires and billionaires a